The Little Mermaid: Beyond The Shore
by moviefan-92
Summary: Melody is 16 now, and plans on taking up her grandfather's offer of joining the merfolk. But things go bad when mermaid hunting pirates arrive to kidnap Ariel or Melody in exchange for the sea king's trident to get Atlantica's treasures. Instead they catch Melody's boyfriend, the blonde merboy she met in Atlantica, and attempt to interrogate Atlantica's location from him. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1: Proper Etiquette

**(A/N: My newest fanfic has arrived. Excluding my Studio Ghibli stories, this will be my first full length Disney fic, not counting my Beauty and the Beast version of Fruits Basket. I must admit, I'm rather excited about this one. I have a great plot in mind, and, truth be told, I've always had a fascination with mermaids ever since I was young; I guess you would call it my guilty pleasure. This story takes places four years after the second movie. Truthfully, I don't know why so many people disliked it. I for one thought it was one of Disney's better sequels. Along with Jasmine, Ariel is my favorite Disney princess, but I also adore Melody's character. I also love her and Alex as a couple. If you don't know who Alex is, he's the blonde merboy she ran into in Atlantica. And yes, that's his actual name, I found it on both the Disney website and The Little Mermaid website. He's just one of many characters Disney gave a name to but never had it spoken in the movie. I even found out that the shark from the beginning of the first movie was named Glut. Ha, ha, Glut. He was supposed to have a bigger part in the original movie too, and Flounder was supposed to be the one to defeat him while he swam Ariel to the ship to stop the wedding between Eric and Ursula, but the scene was cut for some reason. I don't know why, I think it would have been pretty cool seeing Flounder being a hero. He is one of my favorite characters. Ah, there I go, rambling again, I need to stop that. I hope you enjoy the first chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**"THE LITTLE MERMAID: BEYOND THE SHORE****"**

**Chapter 1: Proper Etiquette**

Lots of girls dream of the honor of being a princess. It does indeed seem like such a splendid life full of happiness and free of worry. But while there may be many great benefits in being royalty, there are also many drawbacks that go along with it.

Being a princess, and eventually a queen, is a tough life. There are many responsibilities that go along with it, and a proper etiquette must be followed. In all actuality it was a job you were born into, and it wasn't the carefree life of running through fields of flowers by day and attending romantic balls by night. There was a lot of work involved, and not everyone was up to it. As a certain Arabic princess once said, there were always people telling you where to go and how to dress; you weren't free to make your own choices, and sometimes you felt like you were just trapped.

Melody knew all this very well. Being born a princess, she had spent her 16 years living the life of royalty. Even as a commoner, living up to people's expectations was difficult, but when you were royalty, and people had much higher expectations of you, not to mention they were always watching your every move, it became very stressful. There wasn't much time for fun, there was very little privacy, and there was always much work to be done. In short, playing the role of a princess was enough to drive a person crazy. At least that's how Melody felt right now.

It wasn't all bad though. Quite the contrary, there were many wonderful things about being a princess, enough to make the bad things worthwhile. But this was not one of those times. Listening to her instructor drone on and on about unimportant proper etiquette had Melody ready to throw a fit. She was a known tomboy, and this dainty princess lifestyle was not for her.

Sighing, she looked out the window at the ocean. The sea called to her, and she longed to answer its call. The moment she was free from these lessons, she was hitting the beach, or the water to be more precise. It was in her blood after all. Being half mermaid, the sea was a part of her, and she desperately wanted to return to it.

"Princess, are you paying attention?" her instructor demanded.

Coming out of her daydream, Melody returned her attention to the overly strict by-the-book woman. "Yes, sorry. I just got a little distracted."

Her instructor's lips thinned, indicating her disapproval. "You are the princess! You must learn proper etiquette!"

'Proper etiquette', Melody really hated that phrase. She wanted to point out that she _did_ know proper etiquette, and that her perfection striving instructor was unnecessarily repeating the same lesson for the ten thousandth time, but she held her tongue, knowing it would just mean another lecture she would have to suffer through.

"You need to get your head out of the clouds and back down her where it belongs," her instructor continued, unknowingly quoting a certain crab. "You are already 16 years old, and of marrying age. Suitors will be lining up for your hand, and you must present yourself properly."

Melody resisted the urge to scowl. Marriage suitors? No way was she going to go through that nonsense, but, again, to mention this would mean an even longer lecture. So she remained silent as she listened to her instructor, once again, begin explaining the meaningless and ridiculous things she claimed a princess needed to know. As she tried to pay attention, her index finger impatiently tapped against her leg. She recognized the importance of these lessons, but did her instructor have to go through such lengthy insignificant details, and did she have to hear the same things over and over again? Couldn't she learn something new?

She felt as if she was going to go crazy is she didn't get out of here soon, when at long last, her instructor pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time. "We will end here for today. You are excused."

It was best to leave before the woman changed her mind. With hardly a second thought, Melody jumped up from her seat and raced out of the room. Behind her, she heard her instructor shout that she had forgotten to curtsey, and that it was unbecoming for a princess to run around, but she didn't care. Her lessons were over, and she was free for the day. The next few hours were for her to spend the way she wanted. And there was only one place she wanted to be.

Hurrying down the halls, servants moved out of the way as she raced passed them, used to this behavior of hers. As she ran, she let her shoes fly off, followed by her gloves, and then her socks, which she had momentarily stopped running to remove. She left the items where they fell, knowing that the servants would take care of things; that's what they were paid for after all.

Her dress came off next, followed by numerous of other unnecessary garments that restricted her movements, and all the jewelry she was made to wear. Many would claim that she wasn't being modest enough, and that her state of dress was unacceptable for a lady. She didn't see what the big deal was; it wasn't like she was running around naked or too overly exposed. She still had on her camisole and her bloomers, which nearly reached her ankles. Besides, the merfolk that showed up in the waters outside the castle wore far less than she was wearing now, and no one seemed to have a problem with them. The mermaids only wore their shell-bras, and the mermen didn't wear anything at all! Melody wondered if it was from her mer ancestry that she got her lack of modesty from.

Bursting outside, she raced down the pier that had been built a few years after the wall came down. Reaching up, she pulled the ribbon from her hair, letting her long inky black hair flow out behind her. When she reached the end of the pier, she immediately leapt off and dove into the water without a hit of hesitation. The instant she was submerged, she experienced a sensation of coming home.

Breaking the surface, she closed her eyes and floated on her back, her long black hair flowing around her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation, missing this feeling of belonging.

Ever since she could remember, she loved the sea. It was so much more than a massive body of water to her. It was a world of utmost beauty, filled to the brim with life, mystery, and magic. Truth be told, she couldn't understand why her mother had wanted to leave the sea for a life on land.

It had been a real shock to discover that her mother had once been a mermaid, and not just any mermaid, but the youngest of the seven daughters of the great sea king. Always being fascinated with the land, she had been a real misfit in the underwater kingdom of Atlantica. But it wasn't until she fell in love with Prince Eric that she traded her voice away to an evil sea witch known as Ursula in exchange for legs.

All of this had been hidden from Melody for most of her life. Her parents had felt it had been necessary when another sea witch, Ursula's very sister, had threatened her life. Melody had been left to figure things out on her own. She cursed that wicked hag for all that she had done to her and her family, but at the same time, she was grateful to her, for it was through her that Melody had discovered her true heritage.

Suddenly, everything made sense. Her love for the sea, her inability to relate to other human children, not to mention her ability to speak to sea creatures, it was all due to her mer ancestry.

After many lies, much deceit, and a great deal of misunderstandings, everything eventually worked itself out. Her grandfather then offered her the option of becoming a mermaid and going to live with him in Atlantica, or to remain with her parents as a human and return to her normal life on land. Melody had chosen to remain with her parents, but used her grandfather's magic trident to destroy the wall around the castle that separated the land from the sea, which had been built in order to keep her safe from Morgana. But with one witch dead and the other frozen in a block of ice, there was no longer any reason to keep the land and sea separated.

Things became infinitely better now that the truth was out in the open and the threat had been neutralized. Also, with her ancestry revealed, she was no longer called a freak by other children for her "strange" behavior. She got to know her sea dwelling family, made many friends, and no longer had to sneak out to go swimming, except for the times she skipped out on her lessons.

Oh, but what she would give to truly live in the sea like the other merfolk. She may have passed on her grandfather's offer at the time, but that was because she had just turned 12 and had wanted to spend her childhood with her parents. But now she was reaching adulthood, and she felt ready. Besides, all children must leave the nest eventually, or so the saying went. The sea was calling her home, and she desperately wanted to return to it. It was where she belonged, where she wanted to be, where she was always meant to be. And there was one more reason that trumped all the others.

Suddenly, something grabbed her from below and pulled her under. Melody yelped in surprise as her head went beneath the surface. Something was holding her from behind, wrapping around her legs to prevent her from kicking.

Then she was being tickled. She thrashed about even harder as bubbles escaped from her mouth as she laughed. She reached out and pinched whatever was holding her, and she was immediately released.

Breaking the surface, she coughed as she caught her breath. Pushing her curtain of hair aside, she saw a familiar blonde head with green eyes dancing in amusement.

"Alex!" she cried in mock outrage. "You know I hate that!"

The boy reached out and pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers. Melody struggled for a few moments before wrapping her arms around him and kissing him back. When the kiss ended, she felt dazed and light-headed, but in a good way, and she stared at him with hooded eyes.

"Nice to see you too, Mel-Mel," he teased.

Melody tried to scowl at him, but was unable to keep up the annoyed act, not with him looking so handsome. Blonde hair with dark streaks in it that fell past his ears, large green eyes that held her captive, that annoyingly adorable grin on his face, not to mention that perfect swimmers body that nearly all merfolk seemed to have from a life of swimming. Even his beautiful emerald green tail that was currently wrapped around her again, holding her close, kept her completely mesmerized. His only flaw, if she could even call it that, was his pet name for her.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" she asked, cutting her eyes at him.

He affectionately tapped her nose. "Not unless you order me not to, your highness."

She rolled her eyes, remembering back to when they first met. After accidentally bumping into him while observing the wonders of Atlantica, she had found herself instantly attracted to him, leaving her love-struck and completely tongue-tied. As a result, when he asked for her name, she had ended up stuttering over it. Ever since, her misspoken "Mel-Mel" had become his term of endearment for her.

"You know I don't like to flaunt around my authority," she told him.

Smirking, he circled around, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "I would do anything you ask of me," he whispered in her ear, "royalty or not."

She shivered at his words, feeling blessed for having such a wonderful boyfriend like him. They'd been together for four years now, the attraction they had felt for each other having grown evermore over time. They'd started out as friends, both of them dancing around their feelings for each other, but soon enough, they became a couple.

Truth be told, they were more of an unofficial couple rather than an open one. While they considered themselves to be exclusive, the outside world, particularly on land, had yet to acknowledge their relationship. It wasn't that they were keeping thing a secret, but with her being royalty and him being a commoner, the land dwellers didn't consider them to be official. Normally, on land, royalty married other royalty, or at the very least those of rich or noble birth. There were very few cases where a commoner would marry into a royal family, such as the case with a certain glass slipper. It was just another one of the many downsides of being a princess.

Such things were far more acceptable in the sea though. Even her Aunt Adella had married her teen sweetheart, Stevie, and he had been a commoner. Sometimes she really wondered just where all these rules and regulations came from, especially for those on land. Titles and riches meant nothing to Melody. If necessary, she would abdicate the throne if it was a choice between ruling and being with Alex. If her mother had felt for her father even half of what she felt for Alex, then she could easily see why she would give up her life in the sea for him, regardless of how wondrous of a world it was.

Then again, her mother had also always dreamed of a life on land anyway, even before having met her father, so it all worked out for the best.

The two floated along on the surface together for a while, Melody lying on top of Alex with her arms stretched out. His arms were stretched out as well, holding her hands, his powerful tail gently pushing them along.

"I missed you," he told her.

"I missed you too. My instructor is just so dead set on teaching me how to be her definition of a proper princess."

"I still don't understand why you have to go through so much trouble. You're royalty, you should be making the rules."

She chuckled at that. "Tradition, it seems, outranks royal status. It's considered essential."

"I consider it silly, and a waste of time."

Melody giggled. "That's for sure. I'm glad I'll only have to put up with it for a little while longer."

A question appeared in Alex's eyes, but it took him a few seconds for him to voice it. "Did you tell them yet?"

Melody fell silent, fighting down the guilt she felt. "No, not yet. But I think that they know. I think they've known for years, but none of us have ever brought it up."

The topic they were discussing was Melody's return to the sea. Her _permanent_ return to the sea. She may have declined her grandfather's offer to live with him in Atlantica at the time, but she had been a child, and had wanted to grow up with her parents. But it had always been her intention to become a mermaid once again when she grew up. It was who she was, who she was meant to be. She felt this in the depths of her soul.

Her parents knew, she thought. They never actually sat down and discussed it, but she felt that deep down they knew what she wanted. Perhaps that was why they weren't so insistent on her following the proper etiquette that her instructor demanded of her. The ways of those on land weren't the same as those under the sea, so they had been more lenient towards her more wild and tomboyish behavior.

Perhaps it was because they knew what she was going through that they were so understanding about her unspoken decision to go back to the sea. After all, she and her mother were a lot alike. Her mother had also been a misfit and an outcast, never feeling content with her life under the sea, always dreaming of a life on land. Now the situation was reversed, and it was the daughter that didn't fit in with the land society and craved a life under the sea.

Of course, as king and queen, her parents needed an heir, and Melody couldn't possibly rule a kingdom on land from under the sea. That was where her little brother came in. Only four years old, but still second in line for the throne, it was little Dorian who would inherit the throne when the time came. And, unlike her, he didn't seem overly fond of the sea, while she had always shown signs of wanting to be in it or near it, even as an infant, or so she had been told.

She was brought out of her thoughts as Alex shifted them from a floating position to a vertical one so he could turn her around to face him. "You know I wouldn't ask for you to give up your life on land for me. If I had to, I could learn to… adjust."

He was trying to hide how uncomfortable the idea of leaving the sea was to him, but Melody could see right through him. She thought it was sweet how he was willing to give up everything he knew and loved for her, but it was not necessary. She would never ask such a thing of him, and it didn't even matter since she was the one who wanted to change.

"I'm not really giving up anything," she told him. "I made this choice a long time ago. I wanted to stay with my parents while I was growing up, but we all have to go live our own lives eventually. It was always my intention to return to the sea one day. You're just my biggest reason for it." Smiling, she leaned in and kissed him. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to change for me; I love you exactly the way you are."

"And I love you," his tail curled around her legs, "whether you have fins or feet."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "You have no preference?"

He gave her a knowing look. "Is this one of those trick questions you girls do that are meant to trap a guy so he's in trouble no matter what he says?"

Melody giggled. "Maybe…" She decided to let him off the hook. "If it helps, I really loved my tail."

"Your tail was beautiful," his tailfin tickled her feet, "but your feet are cute."

"Cute, huh? I wonder what you would look like with feet."

He looked uncomfortable again. "Um… no thank you. I'm happy with fins."

He was fun to tease; it made him look adorable. "Well, you don't need to worry about that. Grandfather only did it for Mom since she was his daughter, and offered it to me because I'm his granddaughter. And speaking of Grandfather, did _you_ ask _him_ yet?"

If Alex looked uncomfortable before, he looked even more so now. "Uh… no, not yet. I was thinking that it might be better if we talk to him together."

"Don't be a guppy," she teased, using her mother's joking insult for her fish friend's cowardliness. She knew good and well that Alex was no coward, but how exactly was one supposed to ask the sea king for his granddaughter's hand? Alex had no desire to end up sharing a cell in the sea dungeon with the old crone Marina Del Rey. And then there was still her parents to ask. King Eric and Queen Ariel may have been on good terms with Alex from his frequent visits, but that could easily change if they felt that he was taking their only daughter away from them, especially in the father's case.

"I just think the king will be more inclined to give his blessings if you're there with me. He completely dotes on you after all."

Melody chuckled at how true that was. "Firstborn grandchild, and of his youngest daughter to boot. But you know he has a soft spot for you too. Your parents and my mother were very good friends. And I heard that Grandfather had practically adopted your father."

She had a point there. Alex's parents were none other than Urchin and Gabriella, the childhood friends of Melody's mother. So it was a safe assumption to say that he had some good standing with the sea king.

Alex opened his mouth to say something else when several voices cried out.

"Melody!"

The two of them turned to see five yellow fish with blue stripes leaping in and out of the water towards them. Flounder's children, Seaweed, Gils, and Gummy, along with their sisters, Bubbles and Fins, were also frequent visitors to the castle, stopping by every couple of weeks. Although they were fun to hang out with, they did tend to unintentionally interrupt Melody and Alex's quality time.

A soft groan escaped Alex, and Melody gave him an apologetic look before turning her attention to the five fish. "Hi, guys," she waved. "How are you?"

"We came to see you!" Gummy, the youngest, cried happily.

Melody chuckled. "Are you guys allowed to be this far away from home all by yourselves?"

"We're not by ourselves," Gils, the eldest, replied.

At that moment, two more aquatic critters made their appearance.

"It's Titanic Tip!" the penguin yelled.

"And Daring Dash!" the walrus shouted.

Smirking, Melody didn't miss a beat. "Adventurers slash explorers!"

Her friends swam over and she soon found herself being hugged tightly against Dash's blubbery body. "Great to see you, Melody!"

"Yeah," said Tip, "old blubbery boy here was being all mopey, so when the kids said they wanted to come visit you, we volunteered to be chaperons."

Dash gave his friend a dirty look. "Hey, I wasn't the only one." He looked back at Melody. "He was being really broody too. You should have heard him. 'I miss Melody', 'I wonder what Melody is up to', 'it's been a while since we last saw Melody'."

She stifled a laugh at the irritated look on her penguin friend's face, who reluctantly admitted the truth. "Ok, so maybe I missed you a little. You have been pretty busy lately with all this princess stuff." He swam over to Alex and patted his shoulder. "Sorry, pal, don't mean to intrude on your private time, but we don't got much choice if we ever want to see our human friend again."

Alex sighed. "It's fine, I can share."

"Hide-and-Seek!" Flounder's guppies cried.

Melody sighed. "Guess that means I'm the seeker." She always was since she was the only one who couldn't breath underwater, or hold her breath for such a long period of time.

"You'll never find me!" Bubbles, the youngest of the sisters, declared. "I'm the best hider ever!"

"That's because you cheat," Seaweed, the second eldest, accused.

"I do not!"

"You do so! You keep changing hiding places in the middle of the game!"

"That's not true! And I'm telling Daddy you were being mean to me!"

"One!" Melody counted loudly to stop the argument. "Two… three…"

The others quickly submerged as Melody covered her eyes. Alex lingered behind a moment to plant a kiss on Melody's cheek before going under as well, earning him a smile from the princess.

Up above in the castle, King Eric and Queen Ariel watched from the window as their daughter played with her friends. It was a bittersweet feeling to see her so happy and so in love, knowing what it might lead to one day.

**(A/N: The first chapter is done. Did everybody like it? Did I do a good job on creating an older version of Melody? I always felt that she wanted to spend her childhood with her parents but intends to become a mermaid once she grows up. Oh, and yes, Flounder's kids are going to play a bigger role in this story than they did in the movie. Did I come up with good name for them? Oh, and who caught my Disney references? I'll be throwing those around throughout the story. Disney actually does that in a lot of their movies. Several characters make cameo appearances. I'll also be making references to the TV series, so look out for them. I'm hoping to make the other chapters as long as this one. I'll be back soon. Leave me a review and tell me what you think.)**


	2. Chapter 2: Captain Bloodshot

**(A/N: Ok, so not as many hits as I hoped for, but more Reviews, Favorites, and Alerts than I was expecting. I think I got a winner in the making if I can get more people to find out about this fic. Sweet! So, for this chapter, I'm introducing the villain, or should I say villains. Just a fair warning to you, things get a little… disturbing, but I put a lot of thought into my characters, so let me know what you think of them. Oh, and I also make two more Disney references in this chapter, at least I think it was two. Lets see if you can stop them.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 2: Captain Bloodshot**

Several miles offshore, a mighty vessel sailed through the ocean. Seeing ships at sea was not uncommon, but the flag that symbolized the captain and crew's loyalty stood out in this instance. And this one was a clear indicator of being a pirate ship.

At first glance, the flag seemed to be that of an ordinary pirate ship, but like many famous captains that had made a name for themself, there were distinct differences to this one. It was the traditional black with a white skull above two crossed bones, only instead of having bone joints at the bottom of both ends, the bottom joint of the two bones were shaped as fish tails. A more noticeable distinction from a distance were the eye sockets of the skull being a blood red color rather than black, being a major indicator of who this ship belonged to.

It could be considered a stereotype that pirates obsessed over gold. They were all expected to have some sort of treasure chest full of it buried in some remote location that could only be found with a map they made. This bunch, however, seemed to be the exception to that rule. Gold was scattered all over the deck. Coins, nuggets, bars, and various items of the rare and valuable metal littered the floor, and none of the crew members seemed to show any interest in it aside from the occasional longing look.

Up in the crow's nest, one particular crewmember kept lookout. Spotting something upon the horizon, he whipped out his telescope to see in the distance.

"Land hooooooooo!" he called down to the others.

Down on deck, another crewmember pulled out his own smaller telescope to take a look. Sure enough, there was land in the distance, upon which resided a castle. The landmark indicated that their long voyage was now over. Now the time had come to put the plan into action. But first thing was first; the captain needed to be notified.

Closing the telescope, the crewmember tucked it back into his jacket. Unlike the rest of the crew, this particular member stood out from the rest. He was younger than them, cleaner too, and much better dressed. And while the others all seemed eager about the fact that land was in sight, his face remained impassive.

This man was known as Jason Hemsworth, and he was the current first mate of the Sea Arrow; an appropriately named ship for the way it shot through the water and brought death upon all in its path. Marching across deck, Hemsworth made his way towards the captain's quarters. Reaching for the door, he hesitated for a moment before pulling it open and heading inside.

With the curtains covering the windows, the room was dark, lit only by candles. Gold filled the room in even greater amounts than the outside of the ship, but it was tossed about carelessly as if it were worthless. Hemsworth itched to fill his pockets with the shiny metal, but knew the consequences of doing such. He'd already received his share, but there was a need for more, and it wasn't based on greed.

A large banquet table filled the room with a feast spread out upon it, and all of the meals were various dishes of fish. A large hand with gold rings on three of the fingers reached out and grabbed the contents off one of the plates. Hemsworth pressed his lips tightly closed together as he listened to the captain devour his meal.

"Yeh know I doona like ter be bothered while I be dinin'," the captain grumbled in a heavy accent that was typical for a pirate. "Yeh best 'ave a good reason fer disturbin' me."

Hemsworth swallowed uneasily. "Sir, you requested to be informed once we reach our destination. Land has been spotted, sir, we have arrived."

The captain's loud noisy eating stopped. He reached over and grabbed a goblet full of rum and drained it. Slamming the empty goblet on the table, he wiped mouth on the back of his sleeve and stood up. "Finally."

Heavy footsteps were heard as the captain marched over to the window, walking with a limp, and pulled the curtains aside, letting light fill the room. "I've been waitin' a long time fer this. Mermaid waters, these be. The home o' King Triton, ruler o' the merfolk, 'n' all o' the seven seas."

Hemsworth shifted uncomfortably. "If the stories are true, sir."

"Aye, they be true alrigh'. Why else would fishin' be banned in these here waters?"

Hemsworth didn't answer. Stories had been circulating around nearby kingdoms for years that King Eric had wed a mermaid princess. Such a union formed a powerful alliance between the merfolk and the humans in this kingdom, and as such, it had been made illegal to fish anywhere in the kingdom. But while Hemsworth was skeptical about how true the stories were, the captain, who was a very superstitious man, was far more inclined to believe such things, or, rather, he wanted to believe the things he heard, even if there was little to no evidence to support it. One thing was for sure, this was the most likely place to find merfolk, and this was the captain's goal.

He noted his first mate's uneasiness. "Tell me, Hemsworth," he turned to face him, "do yeh think I'm a monster?"

Hemsworth surveyed the captain. Looking at him, he wasn't so different from the rest of the crew. He was in his mid 50s, with slightly sun damaged tan skin from spending too much time in the sun. He was tall, but walked with a slight hunch, causing his potbelly to spill out even further over his pants. He dressed in traditional captain's clothes for a pirate and shared the poor hygiene the rest of the crew had from being out at sea for so long, but he lacked the stereotypical traits that people tended to associate with pirates, such as a peg leg, an eye patch, or a hook for a hand like another famous captain. He didn't even have a parrot that people seemed to think all captains had so they could give orders to crewmembers on other parts of the ship without leaving their post. What he did have though was a single golden tooth, standing out in a mouth infected with scurvy, surrounded by a thick brown beard that reached his chest. The hair of his mustache was distinguishable from the rest simply because it was braided.

But it was his eyes that set him apart from others, and were the reason for his flag. Having blue eyes like his wasn't uncommon, but the captain's eyes were always completely bloodshot. For some reason, they had been that way for a few decades now, and just looking at them made Hemsworth uncomfortable.

As for the captain's question as to whether or not he was a monster, it would be based on the point of view of the individual. He could indeed be a cruel man, but he was fair to his crew and treated them with respect. Except for when it came to insubordination, then he had no qualms of whipping the skin from the offender's back. Hemsworth had even heard of time from before he joined the crew where the former first mate had attempted a mutiny. When it failed, the captain had strapped the man to the anchor and dropped it into the sea. It was safe to say that there had been no further attempts to mutiny after that. If anyone had ever deserved to have an enchantment placed on them to be turned into a beast, it was this man, not some spoiled prince.

"I asked yeh a question, Hemsworth," the captain growled impatiently. "Do yeh think I'm a monster? Many would call me such."

The first mate considered his words carefully before speaking. "I think you're human. And human beings are capable of the greatest acts of love and compassion, but also the greatest acts of evil and wickedness. If you are a monster, captain, then we all are."

The captain stared at him for a few moments before throwing his head back and laughing. "Well said, lad, well said!"

Hemsworth discretely let out a sigh of relief. Though he truly believed what he had just told the captain, he also believed that some people were more of a monster than others. The captain was one of those people, for the things he did were truly monstrous. Though it was common for pirates to be cruel and ruthless, the captain was no ordinary pirate.

His origins were shrouded in mystery, but there have been many tales told and rumors spread. Some were undoubtedly exaggerated, and others were missing a great deal of information. From what Hemsworth heard, the captain had been a victim of pirates himself when he was just a boy. It was from this attack that he had supposedly gotten his injury that left him walking with a limp, having taken a bullet to his leg.

After losing his entire family in an attack, he had hardened his heart and swore that one day he too would become a pirate, and that he would become the most ruthless and respected pirate to ever sail the seven seas. He swore that he would never know what it would be like to be a victim again, for he would be the one in power. No one would ever dare to oppose him, and he would unleash the horror he had experienced as a child upon others, so that all would know his pain. Or so the stories went.

If there were truth to these tales, then the captain had certainly done well to keep his oath. When he became a man, he even cast aside his own name in favor of a new one that would strike fear in the hearts of others. While some argued that he simply renamed himself after his eyes when they became permanently bloodshot, others said it was because anyone who he set his gaze on was likely to be shot. Whatever the case, the name of Captain Bloodshot soon became well known.

But it wasn't just his ruthlessness that set him apart from others. While other pirates set their sights on wealth, adventure, and rebellion, Captain Bloodshot sought something else, something no one had ever achieved before.

It was said that the attack he had experienced as a boy had left behind more than a burning need to rise above all other pirates. According to the stories, after he had watched his family and the other passengers die as the ship sank, the young boy the captain had once been had drifted back to shore in shark infested waters on floating debris with the corpses of those that had been killed drifting along with him. Only the screams of the other survivors were heard as the sharks picked them off one by one. By the time he had reached shore, he alone had been the last one left.

Understandably, the experience had greatly traumatized the young boy and left him mentally scarred. This stirred up a powerful obsession within him. It was because of this obsession that he had set out to achieve his ultimate goal, achieving eternal life.

Once again, Hemsworth wasn't sure how much of this was true, but the captain did indeed obsess over gaining eternal life. He searched for many years, sailing from port to port, from island to island, following whatever leads he could find. He began dabbling in things no man should ever get involved with, even learning a bit of black magic along the way.

But it was following one of these leads that he came across an ancient civilization that had died out hundreds of years ago. There wasn't much to go on, but it was clear that the civilization had been followers of the occult. And it was from here that Captain Bloodshot believed he found his answer. It was also where he picked up what Hemsworth felt was his most barbaric habit. While attempting to translate what he could from what little was left of the ancient ruins, he somehow came to the conclusion that he could maintain eternal life by devouring the tails of merfolk.

Hemsworth felt the urge to gag as he glanced at the captain's meal. It had once been the beautiful purple tail of a mermaid the crew had managed to capture. And the captain ate it all, from the point where human flesh shifted to fish scales, all the way down to the end of the tailfins. It was for this reason that the captain had set sail for these waters, for beneath them, if the stories were true, was the city of Atlantica, the kingdom of the merpeople.

Hemsworth didn't believe for a minute that eating the tails of merpeople would extend someone's life. Apparently, neither did the crew. Though Hemsworth did wonder if, perhaps, the captain's repulsive eating habits were the reason his eyes permanently became bloodshot, but he had heard that this had happened before the captain began feeding off the merpeople.

It was highly plausible that the captain had mistranslated what he obtained from the ancient civilization, or was even missing a good chunk of information. He still showed signs of aging, even though he'd been feeding off the merfolk for over two decades. But there was no convincing the captain otherwise. As Hemsworth had learned, the captain was very superstitious, and could even be quite gullible about certain things. He was convinced that this was his answer, and even if he was wrong, it didn't hurt to do it. He had even told Hemsworth himself that if it turned out that eating the tails of merfolk did nothing, he would still rather do it than risk passing up the opportunity of living forever. No merfolk was safe from the captain's monstrous appetite. Young or old, male or female, the captain more or less viewed them all as commodities. Once Hemsworth had even witnessed the captain cut down a pregnant mermaid without a hint of remorse, and then ordered the cook to make his meal as if the mermaid had been an ordinary fish. He was truly a man without any morals when it came to achieving his goals.

Feeling nauseous, Hemsworth forced himself to look away from the table. The captain took note of this and grinned. "Yeh be lookin' a little green there, lad. Feelin' seasick, are yeh?"

Swallowing a few times, Hemsworth pulled himself together. "Forgive me, sir."

The captain leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Yeh don' approve o' me dinin' habits, do yeh?"

Hemsworth did his best to look stoic. "It is not my place to question what you do, Captain Bloodshot, sir."

The captain was silent for a moment before limping over to his desk. Sitting down, he gathered up a handful of gold coins and began running them through his large fingers. "Do yeh know why I made yeh me firs' mate, Hemsworth?"

The first mate blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Sir?"

"I asked if yeh know why I chose yeh ter be me firs' mate?"

Hemsworth considered the question. Truth be told, he had no idea why the captain picked him. There were plenty of other crewmembers much more suitable for the job than he was. He'd been just as surprised as everyone else when the captain had selected him out of all the other possible candidates.

"I do not question your orders, sir, I simply carry them out."

The captain chuckled. "I picked yeh 'cause yer differen' from the rest o' me crew. The stealin', the pillagin', it all be fun 'n' games ta them. They do it 'cause they enjoy it. However, yer not like them. Yeh do it 'cause yeh 'ave ta, 'cause yer family be needin' the money, 'n' makin' a hones' livin' wasn' enough fer yer family ta get by."

He flicked a coin in the air and caught it. "When it comes ta me crew, loyalty is wha' matters most ta me. I need ter know that I can trus' me men, 'n' that when the time comes, they be willin' ta do wha' needs ter be done." He grinned knowingly. "Love can make a man foolish 'n' weak, but it can also make 'em strong and determine; 'specially when it comes ta family. Yer family needs yeh, Hemsworth. Yer willin' ta do wha' be necessary fer 'em, even if it be somethin' society looks down upon. That there be the type o' person I need, someone willin' ta do whatever be necessary. Me men out there, they live a life o' piratin' 'cause it's wha' they want. But yeh, Hemsworth, yeh need it. That be why I picked yeh. They don' need ta do somethin' if they doona want ta, but yeh will always _need_ ta, fer yer family. That be why, even though yeh don' approve o' wha' comes next, yeh will still follow orders. Am I righ'?"

Hemsworth wanted to object, to say that he would take no part in this sadistic way of life any longer, but he knew he couldn't because it wasn't true. He had already come too far and done this much. He had far too much blood on his hands that couldn't be washed off. But he had to do it, his family needed him, and he would do what he must for them.

"Aye, captain."

A grin broke out on the captain's face. "Splendid. Then we best be gettin' things underway."

Getting up, he limped past Hemsworth and out the door. The first mate hesitated for a few moments and found his gaze drawn to the other side of the room where a dark blue curtain hung. A shiver went up his spin as he stared at it. Once again, he wasn't sure how much he believed about what he was told, but if the stories were true, then what lay beyond that curtain frightened him even more than the captain did at his absolute worst.

Unable to stay in the room a moment longer, he followed the captain outside. The crew was gathering around as the captain called them all to order.

"Gents, the final stage o' our journey be upon us. We've reached our destination, 'n' soon enough, our goal shall be realized. Mermaid waters these be, 'n' if the stories be true, the underwater kingdom o' Atlantica. Very soon the seas will be ours ta command, 'n' all the riches o' the deep will belong ta us."

This was followed by cheers from the crew. Hemsworth was the only one not expressing his delight.

"Firs' things firs', we need ter catch ourselves one o' the merfolk. With all the sightin's o' them that 'ave been reported 'round these here parts, we should catch one faster than usual. Then we'll get the attention o' their king, 'n' once we do, we'll take his trident. Then all the power o' the ocean will be ours, 'n' we can 'ave all the treasure we could ever want."

Not to mention all the mer-flesh the captain could eat, Hemsworth wanted to add, but knew that the crew wouldn't care.

"Drop the fishin' nets!" the captain ordered. "The merfolk will notice soon enough that their little fish friends be missin', 'n' will come ta investigate. When they do, we'll draw 'em in 'n' capture 'em."

As the crew scurried around the ship to obey the captain's orders, Hemsworth approached him. "Captain Bloodshot, sir, what happens if none of the merfolk we capture will cooperate?"

The captain smirked. "Oh, they'll cooperate alrigh', I'll see ta that."

Hemsworth hesitated again, trying to come up with some way of convincing the captain that this whole elaborate plan of his was completely crazy. "And what of King Triton? As king of the sea, with the responsibility of governing the entire ocean, do you really think he'll hand his trident over to you and give you all that power for a mere commoner?"

The captain chuckled. "Perhaps, perhaps not. If he doesn' surrender the trident, we'll jus' 'ave ter use more drastic methods o' persuasion."

Hemsworth didn't like the sound of that. "What kind of drastic methods, sir?"

"Yer a prime example o' wha' a man will do fer his family." He glanced at the shoreline where the castle could just barely be made out. "Accordin' ta the stories, Triton's human daughter 'n' granddaughter are the queen 'n' princess. I'm sure he be more willin' ter cooperate if we get ahold o' one o' them."

Hemsworth's eyes widened as he realized what the captain was talking about. If capturing a merperson didn't achieve the desired affect, he would resort to kidnapping the queen or princess; or at least attempt to. It would be a lot more difficult and even dangerous, but the captain was mad enough to do it.

Turning away from the captain, Hemsworth went off to perform his first mate duties. He desperately hoped his plan of holding a common merperson hostage worked. Attempting to kidnap a member of the royal family was just plan crazy.

Then again, it wouldn't be the first time the captain proved just how insane he was.

**(A/N: Well, there's our villains. Not too messed up I hope. I think Captain Bloodshot may be my most original villain so far. But his accent was as annoying as hell to write. Yeesh, I must have read and edited his lines like 10 times before I was satisfied. But who liked him? Did I come up with a good villain? And what about Hemsworth? He's the reluctant villain that was dragged along into a bad situation for a good cause. I was trying to go for something similar as to how Anakin turned to the Dark Side in order to save Padmé. Just how far would you go to help your family if they were in trouble? Sometimes doing the right thing just isn't good enough. Oh, and before I wrap things up, I found a few really nice pics of grown up Melody. I did not make them, so I take no credit, but if you want to see them, just type in the link below without the spaces, and the DOT with actual dots. Just to keep this interesting, I'll be posting a link to a different pic each update, until I run out of course. And don't forget to leave me a review, very much appreciated.)**

images2_**DOT**_fanpop_**DOT**_com/image/photos/13300000/Melody-All-Grown-Up-melody-13355341-900-691_**DOT**_jpg


	3. Chapter 3: Netted

**(A/N: Ok, the next chapter is here, and it's a nice and lengthy 11 pages long. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It seems that people liked my villain. I guess he would remind people of **_**Pirates of the Caribbean**_** movies, but pirate themes are very limited. I did base his accent on Barbossa's. I never saw **_**Mermaid Forest**_** either, but thanks for the notice. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter. We're being introduced to a new character, so make sure you tell me what you think, and keep an eye out for **_**Disney**_** references.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 3: Netted**

Dorian may have been young, but he was already a bit of a prodigy. He seemed to have inherited his mer ancestry's natural talent for music, vocally as well as instrumentally. Currently, he was practicing playing the piano with his music teacher while his parents listened. He may have just been starting out, but at only four years old, he was doing very well for his age.

He resembled his father mostly, though he had his mother's blue eyes and red hair, though his was more wavy. Even as a child, it was obvious that he would draw all the ladies' attention once he grew up. Perhaps it was due to the mystical and erotic beauty that the merfolk seemed to have, whether they were male or female.

But appearance and talent aside, he was still just a child, and like all children, he preferred to go and play. His teacher told him that he had to finish his lessons first, but Dorian, it seemed, had also inherited his mother's stubbornness, even at such a young age, and he was currently displaying this by refusing to play another note.

"Melody gets to go play," he complained, "why can't I?"

"Your sister finished her lessons for the day, my prince," his teacher told him. "You may go about your day as you please once you finish yours."

"Mommy!" Dorian cried.

Ariel chuckled and exchanged a knowing look with her husband. "Very well, that's enough for today."

"But that's not the way a prince behaves," Eric gently scolded.

Dorian immediately pulled his act together. "Sorry, Daddy."

Hopping off the chair, the young prince skipped merrily away to find some way to entertain himself. Unlike his sister, he wasn't completely drawn to the sea, and was fully capable of finding various ways to entertain himself on land. It was a major weight off his parents' shoulders to know that they weren't going to lose him to the sea as they seemed to be losing their daughter, but it was an even bigger relief to know that there were no sea witches after him.

But someone _was_ after their daughter. And it wasn't an evil witch or some horrible sea monster. It was a boy who had laid claim to her heart, and she to his.

Neither King Eric nor Queen Ariel were blind or naïve. They each had two perfectly working eyes, and could see plain as day what was happening with their little girl. They had spotted it early on, and had watched as it had progressed over the years. They knew good and well that their daughter was in love. They may have even known it before she did.

They were happy for her, of course. Being in love was truly a marvelous thing. But they had been hoping it would happen with someone on land. They had introduced her to many young noblemen, but their daughter's heart had been fixated on the blonde merboy she had met while sneaking into Atlantica.

It wasn't that they had any objections to her choice. Alex was a delightful young man. But they knew what it would most likely mean. They had always feared that their daughter would go to the sea one day, and with her relationship with Alex thrown into the mix, that fear was multiplied tenfold.

Perhaps the worst part about it was that Ariel couldn't very well say anything against what her daughter wanted without coming across as a total hypocrite. Aside from that, neither she nor her husband wanted to stand in the way of their daughter's love life. They wanted her to be happy, but they feared losing her.

Yet that was a fear that all parents had. They all knew that one day their children would go out into the world and live their own lives, most likely to begin families of their own. But not all parents would end up losing their children to a whole other world beneath the sea. True, Melody would still be able to come and visit them, but it would be far less often than how it would be if she remained on land.

The whole issue was a sensitive subject. They had yet to sit down and have a real heart-to-heart conversation with their daughter about it, but they had discussed it amongst themselves many times. It occurred to them shortly after Melody had discovered her true heritage and her grandfather had offered her the choice to join the merpeople that they may one day have to let their precious daughter go. The sea called to her even more than the jungle called to a certain man-cub.

They sought council with Grimsby, who took their fears to heart. He'd pointed out that the princess was their heir to the throne, and would need to fulfill her responsibilities as future queen by remaining on land. But neither Ariel nor Eric liked the idea of tying down their daughter to a world she felt like she didn't belong in, especially by dangling her responsibilities over her head. Ariel knew what this was like from personal experience, and they didn't want to see their daughter unhappy.

It was for this reason that they offered their daughter a way out of her royal responsibilities if she wished it. As king and queen, they needed an heir, and so they decided to have a second child. Ariel stopped taking her contraceptive herbs long enough to conceive and give birth to Dorian. The little prince turned out to be a joy in their lives that they hadn't realized they had wanted until they had it, and they loved him dearly. And now, with another heir to the throne, if their daughter did decide to choose the sea, the future of the kingdom was secured.

"Should we talk to her?" Ariel asked as they watched her from the window.

Eric sighed. "I would rather wait until she comes to us about it. There's no point in rushing what is probably inevitable, and I want to hold on to my little girl for as long as I can."

Closing her eyes, Ariel hugged herself. "I now know how hard it must have been for Daddy to let me go. I… I don't know if I can do it. I know she's 16, but I'm not ready yet."

"I don't think any parent ever is," Eric told her, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm certainly not."

She buried her head into is chest. "Oh, Eric, what are we going to do?"

"What we always talked about," he said sadly, rubbing her back soothingly, "see her off with a smile."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Melody dove under again, searching for others. Dash had been too big to find a decent hiding place, and Tip had been hiding right there with him, so she had found them right away. Flounder's guppies may have been harder to find since they were a lot smaller, but she should have found Alex by now. She came to the conclusion that he must be cheating, using the time she resurfaced for air to change his hiding place whenever she got too close to where he was hidden.

Right there! She spotted a flash of a green tail behind that rock. She'd checked behind there earlier. So he really _was_ changing position. She would have to get him later for that.

If she went up for air now, he would probably change hiding places again. It was a good thing she could hold her breath a lot longer than a normal human. So she swam over to the rock without surfacing. Oh yes, he was definitely behind there. She slowly sneaked her way around to the other side and…

Nothing. There was no one there. But the amount of bubbles indicated that something large had been there a moment ago.

She felt a hand grab her ankle and pull her back. The next thing she knew, Alex was kissing her. Had he led her over here on purpose so he could do this without Flounder's guppies seeing them? The sneak.

Not that she was complaining, but she would need to go up for air soon. She kept hold of him though so he couldn't dart off on her again.

The clearing of a throat got their attention and they broke apart. Looking up, they found a familiar crustacean glaring down at them from the top of the rock with his claws on his hips, at least they would be there if he had any.

Heading for the surface, she was joined by Alex and the crab a moment later. "Hi, Sebastian."

"Don't you 'hi, Sebastian me', child. Dees ees very inappropriate behavior for a young lady."

"We were just kissing," she retaliated. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"No," Sebastian agreed, "but you two were so eento each other dat you deedn't even hear me calling."

Five yellow faces broke the surface as Flounder's guppies joined them. "What's going on?" Gils asked. "Sebastian, you interrupted our game."

The crab cleared his throat again. "Yes, well, dee game ees over. Your parents sent me to come peeck you up."

"Aww!" the guppies whined.

"But they said we could spend the day with Melody!" Fins complained.

"Perhaps, but your Aunt Sandy dropped by for a veesit, so dey want you to come back now."

"Aunt Sandy's here?" Seaweed exclaimed, happy to be seeing their father's pink-finned twin sister again.

"Yes," Sebastian replied, "but she can't stay long, and she wants to see you while she's een Atlantica."

Having been watching this interaction, Tip and Dash swam over to see what all the commotion was about.

"Hey, what's going on?" the latter asked. "What's happening to the game?"

"Dee game ees over," Sebastian repeated. "Dee keeds need to go home."

The walrus and penguin immediately stood at attention.

"Then we shall be their escorts!" Tip declared. "Titanic Tip!"

"And Daring Dash!"

"Reporting for duty!" they announced together.

Sebastian sighed, feeling very much like a certain bird when burdened with the company of a certain meekrat and warthog. "Dat won't be necessary. I am fully capable of-"

"Oh, but we insist," said Dash.

"As heroes of the deep, it is our duty to see that these little guys reach their home safely," Tip added.

Sebastian slapped his forehead, giving up. "Very well, lets just go. Meldoy, Alex, have a good day."

The guppies waved to the human girl and merboy. "Bye, Melody! Bye, Alex!"

Tip and Dash saluted them. "Catch ya later!" the former announced.

Sebastian sighed again as they submerged. "All dees crazy kids weell be dee death of me."

Melody chuckled. "I think you make a great babysitter, Sebastian."

"Though you do get a little crabby at times," Alex joked, earning him a playful punch from the human at his side.

The crab cut his eyes at them. "Very funny. I'm getting too old for dees. I've been watching over children ever since your Aunt Attina was born. And let me tell you something, babysitting seven girls at once ees not a walk een dee coral reef." He shivered at the memories. "Although, it was nothing compared to dee catastrophe of when I helped your mutter babysit a pair of twin merbabies back when she was a teenager."

He dropped beneath the surface and swam off. Smiling, Melody shook her head at him. Good old Sebastian, he never changed.

Feeling Alex's arms circle around her, she closed her eyes and leaned back against him. "Alone at last," he said.

She chuckled. "They're not so bad."

"I never said they were. I enjoy hanging out with them, but I also like having you all to myself."

He began placing kisses on her neck, and she sighed in contentment, tilting her head to give him better access as she reached back to run her fingers through his golden locks. "I like it too," she said breathlessly.

"Melody!"

Groaning, they broke apart again. It seemed they had spoken too soon. Back on land, the king and queen stood on the shoreline while Dorian tossed shells into the water, letting the waves splash over his bare feet.

"So much for alone time," Melody mumbled.

"I should probably go," Alex replied, feeling that their time together was at an end for the day.

"No," she objected, "come and say hi. They haven't seen you in a while."

"Well, if the princess wishes it."

She playfully slapped his shoulder and paddled to shore. Alex jokingly mocked her swimming skills by swimming in circles around her to show her how much faster than her he was.

She glared at him. "Just wait until I have my tail again, then we'll see who the faster swimming is."

He looked amused. "I don't know, Mel-Mel. I think even with a tail, it'll take some time before you get as fast as me."

They reached the shore, and Alex stayed behind as Melody got out, ringing the water out of her hair. Her parents went over to her, extending their greetings to the young merman.

"Hello, Alex," said Ariel. "How are you?"

He bowed to them. "Greetings, your majesty. I am well. I was just keeping the princess company."

Melody frowned slightly. She didn't like it when Alex, or anyone for that matter, got too formal with her or her parents. She just wanted to be accepted as a normal person, but all these customs the so-called commoners were meant to follow always seemed to prevent that, at least when she was with her parents.

"We are grateful for your… companionship with our daughter," Eric replied, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. He liked Alex, really he did, but the boy was taking his little girl away from him.

Melody caught on to her father's tone and wanted to shout that she wasn't a child anymore, but she held her tongue. It was typical teenage rebellion on her part that brought up these moody thoughts. She must have inherited that from her mother as well. From what she'd heard, her mother and grandfather had gotten into numerous disputes during her teenage years.

"How are things in Atlantica?" Ariel asked.

"Things are just fine."

"And your parents, how are they?"

Alex smiled and used sign language to tell her that they were well. Since his mother was deaf and mute, she could only communicate with sign language, but she and her octopus translator friend, Ollie, had taught Ariel several signs.

"Oh, wait," she said. "I remember this. Um… Ok, I got it."

She signed for Alex to tell his parents that she missed them. After all, Urchin had been like a brother to her, and Gabriella had been one of her best friends during her time as a mermaid.

Alex smiled and bowed to them once more. "I shall take my leave now, your highness, and I will be sure to give them the message." He glanced once more at Melody, offering her one last bow. "Until tomorrow, princess."

She gave him a smile. "Tomorrow it is."

Then he was gone. Melody felt a deep sense of loss as she watched him go. She was also somewhat irritated with her parents for interrupting them, but tried to hide it. "Did you need something?"

"Dinner will be ready soon," Eric replied. "You need to come inside and get ready."

Melody sighed. It was back to the smothering life of a princess, filled with rules and regulations. From what she heard, being a princess of the sea was far less restricting, and she longed for that freedom. After all, it was as a certain crab said: _they got no troubles, life is the bubbles, under the sea._

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Alex made his way back to Atlantica, feeling a little let down. He'd been hoping to spend more time with Melody where it was just the two of them. It wasn't that he disliked Flounder's kids or Tip and Dash, but they could have given them some more alone time before showing up. Melody's royal duties kept her busy enough as it was. She had told him the types of things a princess on land was required to do. It all seemed rather silly and a big waste of time to him, but he wasn't one to judge. He did wonder though why humans had to make everything so complicated, but he was willing to put up with anything if it meant being with Melody.

He still remembered the first time they met. It was just a normal day in Atlantica where Alex and his friends were hanging out when a cute black-haired girl bumped into him. He could tell right away that she wasn't from around there, but she seemed nice enough, if maybe a little odd. For some reason, she wore a human top and was hanging around with a penguin and a walrus; they didn't find too many of them in Atlantica. But he had tried to be friendly and hoped she would accept his friend's invitation for her to hang out with them. It seemed like she had been about to say yes before her little penguin friend gave her a scolding and dragged her off.

It wasn't until later that he found out who she really was. He couldn't believe that the tongue-tied girl he had met was actually the human granddaughter of King Triton and the daughter of the mermaid turned human Princess Ariel. There wasn't a single merperson in the sea that hadn't heard about the two of them, but due to the evil schemes of the sea witch, Morgana, they had remained separated from the ocean for 12 years.

It sure was funny the way things worked out. As a boy, he never would have thought he'd ever get to see the infamous Melody, let alone having the relationship he now had with her. But now he couldn't imagine life without her. A certain owl would say that he was "twitterpated". The only downside was the guilt he felt for taking her away from her family on land. Of course, Melody had assured him several times that the decision was hers to make, and that she would have chosen a life in the sea whether they were together or not. He believed her, but the feeling of guilt was still there. Perhaps that was why he was always so nervous around her parents.

The thought had crossed his mind that he could possibly ask the sea king to turn him into a human, but the idea didn't sit well with him. He loved the sea, and he had no desire to leave it for a life on land, but he loved Melody even more, and would gladly give up being a merman for her.

He had presented this idea to her, but she had shot it down immediately. She told him that she loved him he way he was and would never ask him to change, especially since it was her intention to become a mermaid again. Besides, it was unlikely that the sea king would repeat what he did for his daughter. Though he may no longer fear and hate humans the way he did before, he still didn't approve of a vast majority of human society. It was a permanent scar left behind after his beloved wife, Queen Athena, was accidentally killed by them.

"Aleeeeex!"

He was brought out of his thoughts by someone screaming his name. Having people show up unexpectedly seemed to be a theme for today. But then he saw four of Flounder's five children swimming up to him, each looking hysterical.

"What's wrong, you guy?" he asked. "I thought Sebastian took you home."

"It's Gummy!" Seaweed cried. "He's in trouble!"

Alex's thoughts immediately shifted to the biggest danger in the sea. "A shark?"

"No," said Bubbles, "a net! A fishing net!"

Alex blinked. A fishing net? Had Gummy been playing in a net and gotton tangled up? That was the only explanation he could come to. He found it hard to believe that Sebastian would actually let them fool around with such a dangerous human invention.

"Can't Tip or Dash get him out?" he asked.

"They're trying," said Fins, "but they can't!"

Now _that_ he could believe. For self-proclaimed heroes, the two of them were rather incompetent and cowardly. They probably went and got themselves tangled up as well while trying to get Gummy out.

"Why doesn't Sebastian just cut the ropes?"

"He's caught too!" Seaweed replied. "He's stuck underneath a bunch of other fish and can't reach them!"

Now they had Alex's concern. "Wait, other fish? What other fish?"

"The ship is dragging the net and catching a bunch of fish! It got Gummy and Sebastian!"

Alex's eyes widened. Now this all made sense. When they had told him that their brother was caught in a net, he had assumed that it was just one that had fallen into the sea years ago, or perhaps was from a sunken ship. He hadn't thought about the possibility that the net could still be in use.

His fists clenched together in anger. Someone was fishing. Fishing had been banned in these waters for over 17 years, which was why he had assumed that the net in question had simply been lying around on the seafloor. If someone was actually using it, this changed everything. Whoever this person was, they were violating the agreement between the humans and the merfolk.

"Take me to them," he seethed, determine to free his fellow sea dwellers.

The guppies led the way with Alex following close behind. How they knew their way through the endless blue was any land dwellers' guess. Like how salmon instinctively knew the way back to the waters of their birth during spawning, or how birds knew how to fly south for the winter every year, sea creatures seemed to possess a sixth sense that allowed them to navigate through the open sea.

Soon enough, they came across their destination. It was worse than Alex thought. Up on the surface was a ship dragging three large fishing nets. Several hundred fish were caught, screaming for help as they were pulled along. It was easy enough to figure out which net Sebastian and Gummy were trapped in since Tip and Dash were clinging to it, trying unsuccessfully to pull it apart.

Swimming down to the ocean floor, Alex snatched up a shell. Breaking it in half, he swam up to the net Tip and Dash were hanging on.

"Get back," he told them, and began cutting into the robe with the shell.

It took some time, but he finally managed to make a hole in the net large enough for the fish to begin spilling out. Among them was Gummy, who quickly rejoined his siblings, followed shortly by Sebastian.

"Humans!" the crab cried. "Humans feeshing! I had dought dat all dis was behind us!"

"I'll take care of it," Alex told him. "Go back to Atlantica and tell the sea king about this. You two," he motioned to Tip and Dash, "take the kids home. I'll get the rest of these guys."

Rather than cutting holes in the nets, he went up to the surface and began cutting the ropes that connected them to the ship. Little did he know that this was the mer sighting the crew had been waiting for.

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"Captain Bloodshot," Hemsworth reported, "sir, there's been a mer sighting by the nets."

A wicked grin crept up the captain's face. "It's abou' time."

Standing up, he limped out of his quarters and began making his way to the back of the ship. All over the deck, the carcasses of dead fish and other marine life littered the deck, the bodies having been carelessly tossed aside after the food supply crates had been filled to capacity.

"Which net be the mer in?" the captain asked.

"No net, sir," Hemsworth replied as he walked along side him. "He's outside the nets, cutting them from the ship. He already cut one free when I came to find you."

The captain's eyes narrowed. "Seems he also got the second, 'n' now he be workin' on the third."

Down in the water, Alex was busy cutting through the ropes of the last net. He was aware that the crew was watching him, but unless they tossed another net over or threw a spear at him, he wasn't overly concerned with their presence.

The captain sighed bitterly. "It looks like I be havin' ter do everythin' meself."

Hemsworth knew what that meant and put some distance between the two of them. He knew that the captain was about to unleash the magic he had learned over his travels. It was a rather amazing spectacle to behold, but Hemsworth, coming from such a poor family, couldn't help but feel that it was wasteful.

There was a reason why gold was scattered all over the ship rather than kept in a safe and secure place. While most, if not all, people coveted gold for the money it could bring, the captain had a very different use for it.

He held his hand out over several gold doubloons scattered across the deck, and the coins began to glow with a golden light. This light drifted away from the gold and into the captain's open hand, which in turn began to glow as well. And once the light left the coins, they changed from gold to black, leaving them utterly worthless.

This was the captain's power. Unlike the demonic powers a certain voodoo man would later gain access to, the captain was somehow able to use magic from gold to cast spells. How he was able to do this was beyond Hemsworth, but he had seen the captain do this numerous times. However, once he drew his power from the gold, the precious metal turned completely black and was rendered worthless. It tore Hemsworth apart to see the black metal carelessly tossed overboard once the captain had used it when the money it could have brought could have been used in much better ways.

Having drawn what he needed from the gold, the captain raised his glowing hand. The water around Alex began swirling around in a circular motion. It happened so fast that Alex barely had time to register what was happening before a whirlpool appeared around him. It wasn't that big, only about three meters wide, but the current was so strong that there was no escape.

The captain clenched his glowing fist, and his hand flashed brightly with golden light. The whirlpool rose out of the water, becoming a full on waterspout. It rose up above the deck and curved over the ship before disbursing, dropping Alex onto the wooden surface.

Feeling dizzy and disorientated, it took a few moments for Alex to get his bearings. It wasn't long before he was able to focus once more and realize he was now on the ship. But once everything stopped spinning around and the nausea passed, he immediately felt sick again for a different reason. All around him were dead fish. The poor creatures were just left rotting in the sun as if they were useless garbage.

Though none of the humans in the kingdom ate fish anymore, Alex knew that the rest of the humans throughout the world still did. This, however, this was not fishing for the sake of food. No, this was the senseless killing of marine life. For what purpose, he didn't know, but he was going to find out.

All around him, crewmembers gathered. Alex could tell right away that these weren't the types of humans he was used to. These were wicked men, and the sneers on their faces indicated that they were up to no good.

"Well, wha' 'ave we here?" said Captain Bloodshot. "One o' the merfolk, I see."

It was painfully obvious that this man was the leader, and Alex gave him an angry glare. "This is against the law! Fishing has been banned in these waters for years. You're in violation of the agreement between King Triton and King Eric."

The captain placed his hand over his heart and made an overly exaggerated spectacle of being distressed. "Agains' the law? By the seven seas, wha' 'ave we done? Yeh hear that, gents? We've gone 'n' broke the law." This was followed by a series of chuckles from the crew, and the captain smiled wickedly. "I guess it be a good thing we don' care abou' the law."

He snapped his fingers and two crewmen seized Alex's arms, lifting him up to what would have been a standing position if Alex had had legs.

"Fish killer!" Alex snarled, trying to pull away.

"Wha', these poor beasts?" the captain asked, kicking a dead fish. "They jus' be a means ter an end. We was tryin' ter get yer attention. Yeh certainly kept us waitin' long enough."

"What do you want with merfolk?"

"Fer now, infermation." He motioned over the side of the ship. "I know these be mermaid waters. I also know that somewhere beneath them resides the kingdom o' Atlantica. Don' bother ter deny it; word has gotten 'round."

Alex knew that there would be no point in denying it, plus they probably wouldn't believe him, so he saw no point in pretending otherwise. "So what?"

"So," the captain replied, "the stories only indicate that yer underwater utopia be somewhere in the water o' this kingdom. But this kingdom goes on fer miles, and there's no tellin' how far off land it may be. That be where yeh come in." He leaned in close. "I yeh ta tell me jus' where it be. Where yeh merfolk live 'n' serve yer king."

"What for?"

"Why, ter meet yer king, o' course."

Alex's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He could tell that this man was not to be trusted, and not just because he had no problem fishing when it was against the law.

"I don't know why you want to meet the sea king, but he won't be happy that you've been fishing in his waters."

"I needed _some_ way ta get his attention. I figured that if his precious pet fish kept disappearin' that one o' you merfolk would come ter investigate, 'n' then we could capture one o' them. 'N' now here yeh be. His pets disappearin' may be one thing, but when his people start goin' missin', he's goin' ter have ta act."

"That won't bode well for you."

The captain chuckled. "Aye, not with that magic trident yer king has."

Alex noted the excitement and longing in the captain's bloodshot eyes when he spoke of the trident. "That's what you're after. You want the king's trident."

The captain studied him for a moment. "Yer a sharp lad. I hope that be meanin' that yer smart enough ta cooperate."

"Why do you want the king's trident? You're a land dweller; it won't be of much use to you."

That much was true. If a human ever managed to get hold of the sea king's trident, there was only so much they could do while confined on land. True, they'd be able to do things like controlling the weather and the surface of the ocean, but how would that benefit anyone? The trident was meant to be used by one living under the sea where they could make full use of the trident's power to govern the ocean and everything in it. It couldn't control those on land the way it controlled those of the sea, not unless they had mer-blood in them like Queen Ariel, Melody, or Dorian, and he seriously doubted there were many people like that.

Perhaps the captain wanted to use the trident to become the greatest fisherman of all time. He would certainly be able to use the trident in that way, even if he couldn't live under the sea. But no, that seemed unlikely. From what Alex could tell, the captain probably wanted to use the trident as some sort of weapon. It was also capable of being used to do things like launching bolts of lightning. That was another way a land dweller could make use of it.

Apparently though, he wasn't going to find out, because the captain said, "Yeh need not know my reasons, boy, but yeh best start talkin' all the same. This need not be unpleasant, but it can be. The choice be yers."

Alex didn't know what this man wanted with the sea king's trident, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. "I'm not telling you anything," he said defiantly.

The captain sighed. "I thought yeh'd say that. I suppose we'll be goin' abou' this the hard way then. Hold yer tongue if yeh wish ta, boy, but yeh'll tell me what I wan' ter know in the end, 'n' I'll not even need ta lift a finger ter make yeh talk." He turned to his men. "Tie him ta the mast. We'll see what a few hours in the sun will do ta loosen his tongue."

**(A/N: Oi, these accents. I got nothing against them, they're just a pain to write. Sebastian's was just as annoying as Captain Bloodshot's. Speaking of him, he's en route to achieving his goal. Poor Alex is being hung out to dry, literally. The way I see it, even though merfolk are capable of breathing air, just like dolphins and whales, they still need the water to survive and can only be out of it for a short time. I can't imagine what that must be like. Oh, and who likes Captain Bloodshot's power of absorbing magic from gold. I got the idea from the old **_**Tomba**_** games, remember those? And in case you were wondering about Flounder's sister, she appears in _Little Mermaid's Island,_ a show that was never aired. Her name was Sandy, and she was Flounder's pink-finned twin, so I just thought I'd mention her. By the way, I hope no one thinks that Alex was being a jerk when Flounder's kids came to him for help. He just thought they were being clumsy and didn't realize how dire the situation was. And did I do good with Dorian? His name means "from the sea", so I thought it was suitable. I could definitely see Melody with a little brother. At east he doesn't seem completely drawn to the sea. Poor Ariel and Eric are actually having to consider letting their daughter go. But with the pirate threat, it seems they'll have other things to worry about. Stay tuned to see what happens next, and leave me a review on your thoughts. Oh, and I've got another awesome pic for you below. Once again, I take no credit. Make sure you replace the **_**DOT**_** with actual . when you type it in.)**

th05_**DOT**_deviantart_**DOT**_net/fs44/PRE/i/2009/165/1/2/Melody_grown_up_by_stargate4ever23_**DOT**_jpg


	4. Chapter 4: Interrogation

**(A/N: Seems like the idea of Alex being Urchin and Gabriel's son is being well received. It's actually a very common theory that Alex is Urchin's son due to similar appearance. Even Disney Studios acknowledges this, but have not confirmed it or denied it. But I also believe that Gabriella is his mother. His appearance supports this. For example Alex has brown eyebrows, Gabriella has brown hair. Alex has blonde hair, Urchin has blonde hair. Alex's hair style is similar to Gabriella's, and maybe crossed with Urchin's. He also has darker streaks of blonde, almost brown, in his hair that could have come from Gabriella's brown hair. Alex has green eyes, and so does Gabriella. Alex has a green tail, so does Urchin. Alex's skin color seems a little darker than the other merpeople's. Gabriella had dark skin and Urchin had light skin, so his is a nice blend of the two. Then there's also the fact that it was implied that Urchin had a crush on Ariel, and even though she was mute, it was said that Gabriella was a lot like Ariel, so Urchin would find those same qualities he liked in Ariel in her. These are little pointers that creators make that are there for people to see if they know where to look without having to straight out say things. So I came to the conclusion that Alex was their son. So, with my theories noted, lets see what awaits Alex. By the way, I make quite a few mentions to the TV series in this chapter. I'm sure you'll spot them, even if you never did watch any of the episodes.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 4: Interrogation**

Alex struggled and tried to free himself from his captors, but there were so many of them, and they had the advantage of being able to walk around while his single scaly limb flailed around underneath him. He did manage to slap a few of the pirates with it, the powerful muscles in his tail completely knocking them off their feet, before several grabbed hold to keep him still.

Soon enough, Alex found himself tied to the mast. He struggled against his bindings, but he was tied securely. The pirates backed away, snickering at his futile attempt to escape.

"What's the point of all this?" he snapped, though he had a sneaking suspicion as to what the captain was planning on doing with him, and he prayed he was wrong. "Do you expect me to be some fancy ornament to decorate your ship?"

Chuckling, the captain stepped forward. "I've been huntin' merfolk fer many years, boy. I know an awful lot abou' 'em."

"Why?" Alex demanded. "Why hunt us? What for?"

"Yeh will find out soon enough," the captain replied, staring at Alex's tail hungrily. "Yeh merfolk may be able ter breath air, but jus' like dolphins 'n' whales, yeh still need ter be in the water ta stay hydrated and prevent yerselves from overheatin', otherwise yeh will dry out 'n' die. It be a slow 'n' painful death too, I've seen it before."

"You sick freak!"

The captain just grinned. "But don' worry, I won' be killin' yeh, not yet anyway. Yeh can suffer the agony o' dryin' out here in the sun, but we'll be sure ta water yeh down every so often so yeh won' die. How does that sound? Yeh will suffer through the experience o' dryin' out until yer near death again 'n' again. The pain will only end when yeh decide ta tell me what I want ta know."

Alex glared at the captain. What he said was true; merfolk could only last so long without water before dying. And it wasn't a pleasant death either. There really was no need to torture the information out of him when they could achieve the same results by doing nothing. But Alex swore he would never betray his king. No matter what this madman did to him, he would hold his tongue.

"Do you really think this plan of yours will work?" he asked. "The king wouldn't hand over the power of the ocean for the sake of a single merman; he can't afford to."

The captain snickered. "Nor do I expect him ta. Not fer a commoner like yerself." His bloodshot eyes drifted to the far off shore. "But I be willin' ter bet that he'd trade it fer his daughter or granddaughter."

Alex's eyes widened, and he felt his heart leap fearfully in his chest. "Melody! You stay away from her! You hear me? Stay away from her, or so help me I'll-"

"Yeh'll do what? Yer the one at my mercy, boy." His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That be quite a bit o' concern yeh have fer the princess. Be she a friend o' yers?"

Alex felt a moment of panic for Melody, but was able to hide it. He must not let this man know that he had any sort of relationship with her, otherwise he would surely use it to his advantage. "Everyone knows of the king's human daughter and granddaughter. I don't know her personally, but I know _of_ her. I doubt there's a single merperson in the entire ocean who doesn't know the story. And you better not lay a hand on _any_ member of the royal family."

He prayed his explanation sounded believable. The captain stared at him for a few moments before seeming to accept what Alex said. "Well, yeh will be meetin' her soon enough. Once yeh tell us where Atlantica be located."

He had decided on holding off on kidnapping the princess or queen until they had their destination. It wouldn't be easy to kidnap a member of the royal family, and he didn't need the entire royal fleet looking for him while he waited for the merboy to break.

"I'll be back in a few hours. Perhaps yeh will be more cooperative then. Oh, 'n' don' be gettin' any funny ideas like bitin' yer tongue off 'n' bleedin' ta death. It would only delay us until we manage ta catch another poor mer ta put in yer place. And don' bother lyin' ter us either. We plan ta confirm Atlantica's location before we go fer Triton's human kin." He looked at his crew, who were still gathered around. "Wha' are yeh lookin' at, back ta work!"

The pirates scurried off, back to their duties. Only one of them lingered behind, giving Alex a sympathetic look.

"Be there a problem, Hemsworth?" the captain asked.

Hemsworth pulled his gaze away from the poor merman. "No, sir, nothing."

He turned away and went off to perform his duties as first mate. The captain left soon after, and Alex immediately began struggling against his bindings until he completely exhausted himself. Squinting, he looked up at the blazing sun, shining directly on him. He was already starting to feel dry.

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With her royal duties done for the day, there was only one place Melody wanted to be, and that was in the ocean, preferably in Alex's arms. She struggled out of her annoying over-the-top dress and made a run for the beach. She dove right in, submerging beneath the waves, and taking in the beauty of the sea.

Once again wondering how her mother could have possibly left this beautiful world, she swam about, occasionally grabbing and bagging a shell or piece of coral for her collection. As she apologized to an angry hermit crab for thinking he was just a shell and shoving him in her bag, she recalled how it was on a day like this that she found her gold scallop shell shaped locket her grandfather had given her when she was a baby. Dorian had one just like hers, only he had his name on his while she had her name on hers.

Currently, that very locket was hanging around her neck. Opening it produced a glowing bubble that contained an image of Atlantica as a beautiful tune played. She couldn't wait to go back. Last time, she hadn't really had the chance to enjoy the gorgeous underwater city. She desperately wanted a tour of the kingdom, and then there were the wonders of the open sea to behold.

Her mother had told her of her adventures in the sea from before she became human. Back then, she'd been the adoptive mother to a baby killer whale, outswam sharks, road on the back of a wild seahorse, foiled the Lobster Mobster's plans, rescued kidnapped merbabies, fought a giant squid, escaped a whirlpool, befriended a sea monster, explored sunken ships, stopped a war with the Olympian merfolk, competed in the underwater Olympics, outsmarted crocodile thieves, put the Seaclops to sleep, kept the evil sea sorceress sealed away, disproved a myth of the Bad-Luck Creature, met the magic Wishing Starfish, helped rescue a famous human author, briefly become a sea witch, stopped a mad scientist's crab experiments, helped defeat the Sharkanians and Octopids, broke a curse on Flounder, resurrected frozen dinosaurs, undid Ursula's disastrous spell, reformed the Evil Manta, restored music to Atlantica, and gone on countless other adventures.

The stories had been so amazing that Melody had thought her mother was making them up until she received confirmation from both Flounder and Sebastian. Life on land wasn't bad, and it certainly had more conveniences, but how could her mother have chosen that type of life over the magical wondrous experiences under the sea. To Melody, there was absolutely no comparison.

Not to mention there was family. When the truth about her mother's heritage had been revealed, Melody had been shocked to discover that she had six aunts, each one just as beautiful as the last. The eldest, her Aunt Attina and her husband were next in line for the Atlantican throne once her grandfather finally stepped down, and one day, one of their twin daughters, either Athena or Shelly, would become the heirs. Apparently, Athena had been named after their late grandmother who had been killed in a horrible boating accident.

Melody actually had so many cousins that she had trouble keeping track of them all. Her Aunt Adella and Uncle Stevie's children were the ones she was closest to, being of similar age. She hoped to build a better relationship with her entire mer family when she joined them.

"Melody!"

She yelped as her little brother jumped on her back, laughing as he clung to her shoulders. "Dorian, what are you doing?"

"Swimming with you!"

She looked to the shore and saw Carlotta watching him. She smiled and waved to the elderly woman. If she was here, that meant that Chef Louis either wasn't causing any trouble for once, allowing her to get away, or he _was_ causing trouble, in which case she _needed_ to get away.

"Are you being good for Carlotta?"

"Yes."

"Swear?"

"Yes!"

She chuckled and began swimming while Dorian clung to her. Being part mer, he was fully capable of swimming on his own better than any full-blooded human, but he was enjoying the ride. Part of her felt disappointed that he didn't share the love for the sea the way she did, but another part of her was glad for it. She felt bad enough to be leaving their parents to be a mermaid, but if Dorian ended up wanting to leave them too…

Fortunately, that didn't seem to be an issue. Dorian liked the sea, but it was a source of entertainment for him. He was fully capable of finding other ways to amuse himself that had nothing to do with the water. And, unlike her, he wasn't a misfit on land.

"Where's Alex?" he suddenly asked.

The question halted Melody's swimming. Dorian was fond of Alex and looked up to him the way a little brother looked up to a big brother, and the two got along well. But his question got her wondering.

Where was Alex? Was he late? It wasn't as easy to keep track of time without the use of watches or clocks, which they lacked underwater. Maybe he got distracted while hanging out with his friends Tide and Sea-Sea. Melody had met them when she first ran into him in Atlantica all those years ago. The two of them were fun to hang out with when they came along with Alex for his visits. From what he had told her, the two of them had recently started dating. Melody was happy for them, and she hoped to become better friends with them when she became a mermaid.

"I guess he's not here yet," she said. She gave her brother a mischievous smirk. "Maybe he's fighting Glut the shark."

"No way!" Dorian replied. "Glut's too old to be a match for him. Mom used to outswim him all the time. Remember the story she told of how he got stuck in that anchor?"

Melody laughed and went under, feeling her brother release her and begin swimming on his own. The two of them played together, swimming, digging in the sand, body surfing on waves, and collected shells until it was time to head inside for dinner.

As they exited the water, Melody looked back, feeling disappointed. Alex hadn't showed up. It wasn't something to be overly concerned about. Sometimes things came up and he couldn't always make it to their scheduled meetings, but he would always send a messenger fish or something to tell her that he couldn't be there. But today, nothing. He wasn't the type of person to stand someone up, let alone her, so what happened?

Maybe something important had happened at the last minute and he wasn't able to send a message in time, or maybe he couldn't find someone to deliver the message, or had been too preoccupied with whatever had come up. She would have to ask him about it when she saw him tomorrow.

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It was unbearable agony. He was greatly overheated, his skin was dry and burning, and he was desperate for eve a single drop of water. He didn't know how long he'd been tied here, most likely only a couple of hours, but if felt like an eternity. Merfolk were not meant to be out of the water, at least not long enough for them to dry off. He'd never been dry before, and he didn't like it. Being dry _hurt._ At first it had just been highly uncomfortable, but the more he dried, the more painful it became. And when the last bit of the moisture covering his skin evaporated, the uncomfortable feeling became more and more painful.

His head was pounding, his dry skin itched and stung, and his whole body was burning and aching. It hurt to move, it hurt not to move. Heatstroke was a high probability. He had known that drying out was a slow and painful death, but he hadn't _known._

"Ready for a drink, fish boy?"

Alex cracked his eyes open to see a crewmember standing in front of him, carrying a large bucket of water. The pirate unceremoniously splashed him, wetting Alex's dry body.

The relief was instantaneous. His body reacted to the water, taking in the moisture like a dry sponge. It didn't stop the burning pain, but with his body now wet, it was greatly lessened. But he knew it wouldn't last. Once the water dried, the pain would begin again. Captain Bloodshot had been serious when he said he was going to keep him on the verge of death.

"That's all ya get," the pirate told him. "The captain said ta give ya just enough ta keep ya hydrated so ya don't die." He sneered at the merboy. "Ain't ya supposed ta be flopping around like the other fish?"

"We're mammals," Alex told him, "not actual fish. There's really not much of a difference between humans and merfolk. Would you do this to your own kind?"

The pirate shrugged. "I've done worse. But the captain, ya can't even imagine the things he's done. I suggest ya tell him what he wants ta know before he loses his patients."

It seemed that this pirate enjoyed taunting and tormenting his prisoners. Alex wondered if he could get him to talk. "What does the captain want with merfolk anyway? Why's he hunting us?"

The pirate snickered. "Well, if ya want me ta spoil the surprise." He leaned in close. "Fact of the matter is, the captain's a gullible, superstitious madman; a downright fool even. He's obsessed with living forever, and he thinks ya merfolk can help him achieve this."

Alex was completely bewildered. He'd never heard of merpeople being able to give eternal life. Not even the king's trident could do that. It could heal someone who was sick or hurt, even if they were on the verge of death, but it couldn't grant someone eternal life. It couldn't even extend a person's life. So what made the captain think an ordinary merperson could do what the sea king couldn't?

Though he was surprised at hearing this crewmember speak so ill of his captain, Alex had to agree with him. "You're right, he is a fool. How exactly does he expect us to allow him to live forever?"

The look that appeared on the pirates face indicated that he had been hoping that Alex would ask. "Your tails. He eats them. For some reason, he thinks that it will extend his life."

Whatever answer Alex had been expecting, it wasn't that, His mouth actually dropped open in shock and disbelief. Was that actually true? Did the captain really eat the tails of merfolk? What could possibly make him believe that such a repulsive, savage, and barbaric act would do anything of the sort?

"That's preposterous and vile!" he snapped. "You're captain really is mad!"

The pirate just shrugged. "What the captain believes don't matter ta me none. Don't know why he does it; he's been eating those tails for years and they haven't done him any good. But to each their own."

The captain had been feeding of merfolk for years? Alex felt nauseated. The thought was utterly revolting. He didn't know if he felt more disgusted or infuriated. Based on the sick to his stomach feeling and the way he nearly vomited, it seemed that disgust had won out for now. But he was still pretty angry. The captain was killing and eating his people! It was completely unheard of, and completely, for lack of a better word, inhuman.

A sudden horrifying realization occurred to him. _This_ was why the captain wanted the king's trident. With it, he could control all creatures in the sea. He could use the trident to make the merfolk come to him, and he would never have to go through the task of seeking, luring, and capturing them. If the captain was obsessed with living forever, and he really believed in this ridiculous theory that eating the tails of merfolk would keep him alive longer, then he was planning on using the trident as a never ending meal ticket for his monstrous appetite, and there would be nothing any of the merfolk could do to resist him.

Alex began struggling against his bonds again. But he was weak, and he still hurt terribly. He ran out of energy quickly, and was left in even more pain than before.

"Yes, that's it!" said the pirate. "Flop around like your fish friends! It won't do ya any good. Once we got ya sea critters on land, you're completely at our mercy."

With that said, he matched off, laughing. Alex was left hanging, breathing heavily from his struggle. The situation was far more dire than he initially thought.

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"I can't just standby and watch this, captain!" Hemsworth objected.

The captain nonchalantly studied the map in front of him as he took notes in his captain's log. "Then doona look."

"It's not a matter of looking or not! It's inhuman!"

"There should be no problem then, since he's not human."

Hemsworth's fists clenched. "He's almost human. And even if he wasn't, not even an animal deserves to be tortured like this."

Not liking his first mate's tone, the captain glared at him. "This be an interrogation, Hemsworth, nothin' more. Yeh 'ave seen us interrogate others before without complaint. Why the change o' heart?"

It was true, and Hemsworth had been equally as disgusted by those interrogations as well. But they had also been different. They had been… faster. Normally they would beat the information out of someone. The person either told them what they wanted, or died from the abuse. Either way, it had been fast, and Hemsworth could always look the other way.

But the captain wasn't taking any chances with the capture merman. He didn't want to risk killing him through physical abuse, which was why he was resorting to leaving their captive out to dry. There would be no major threat to his life unless they accidentally waited too long to give him water. But it was taking much longer, and Hemsworth couldn't just look away with him literally hanging over his head the whole time.

Realizing that the captain was still waiting for an answer, he replied, "He reminds me of my brother; he would be around the say age as him right now."

The captain just grinned. "How touchin'. Then perhaps yeh ought ter think abou' yer real brother whenever the merboy reminds yeh o' him. Think abou' how yer doin' this fer his sake 'n' the rest o' yer family. Yeh know from experience jus' how awful poverty be. Would yeh rather have some random merfolk suffer, or yer entire family?"

Hemsworth winced, but the captain was right. Thinking about his family suffering was the only way he had been able to do such horrible things.

The captain could see that his words had gotten through to him. "Tell yeh wha', since yer so concerned fer the merboy's wellbein', yeh can be the one ta take care o' him. Wet him down when he needs it, keep him fed, jus' make sure he don' die before he tells us wha' we need ta know."

Hemsworth didn't respond right away. How was he supposed to watch over the poor boy as he suffered and still maintain his resolve? But he knew that this was an order, and to disobey an order meant a flogging, even for the first mate.

He lowered his head. "Aye, captain," he said reluctantly, and turned to leave.

"Oh, 'n' Hemsworth," the captain called after him, "doona forget that once this plan succeeds, all the treasures o' the deep will be ours. Yer family's financial problems will be over, and yeh can return ta 'em."

Hemsworth didn't reply as he walked out of the room.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

When Alex didn't appear the next day either, Melody's disappointment shifted to anger. She may not have been so upset if a messenger had come with a valid reason of why he hadn't showed up yesterday or today, but instead she received nothing once again.

Her parents noticed her brooding and asked her what was wrong.

"Alex stood me up again!" she complained. "He didn't come yesterday either."

"Well," her mother replied, "maybe something came up. He could just be really busy."

"He could have still taken the time to send a messenger to tell me he wasn't coming," she argued back.

"Now, Melody," her father said, "you don't know the circumstances. You shouldn't get upset if you don't understand the situation."

She stubbornly didn't respond to that. He was right though; she didn't know what was going on. One thing was for sure though; he had better have a good excuse for standing her up, not just once, but twice in a row.

"Dorian, don't ride on Max!" Ariel scolded, and went to pluck her son off the dog's back.

"We were playing horsey!" the little prince declared.

"You can do that when you're older," Eric replied, "and on a real horse too."

Dorian pouted. "No fair! Mommy said she got to ride on Stormer, and he was a wild seahorse."

"His name was Stormy," Ariel corrected, "and I was 14 and the time, not four. And even then your grandfather said it was too dangerous, and he was right."

She set him down, and Max immediately rolled over so Dorian could rub his tummy, which the boy was all too happy to do.

Eric chuckled as he watched his son and the dog play. Turning back to Melody, he placed a hand on her shoulder encouragingly. "I'm sure everything is fine. You can find out what happened when you see him tomorrow."

But Alex didn't show up tomorrow either, or the next day, or the day after that. Eventually, an entire week had gone by with no sign of the blonde merboy, and Melody still hadn't received any word from him. By now, she was frantic with worry. Something must have happened, something serious. But what? If it had been anything too bad, surely someone from Atlantica would have come and told her, Sebastian, Tip, Dash, Flounder, someone!

Melody couldn't help thinking of numerous scenarios. What if Alex had been eaten by a shark, or a giant squid? There _were_ threats in the ocean. But her mother had assured her that if anything like that had happened that the sea king himself would have come and broken the news to her.

Mentions of her grandfather made Melody wonder if, perhaps, what Alex had said before was true. He'd only been joking at the time, but what if her grandfather really had thrown him in jail for asking for her hand?

No, he wouldn't do that. Her grandfather may have a temper, but he wasn't irrational. He wouldn't throw an innocent person in jail just to keep him away from his granddaughter, would he?

It seemed that all she could do was either wait for Alex himself to show up, or for one of her friends to come and visit her, and hopefully she'd receive some insight on what was happening. But she hadn't seen any of them either. This didn't worry her since they didn't visit her as frequently as Alex did, normally every few days. But now the waiting was driving her crazy. She would ask the fish she came across while swimming if they knew anything, but she was always disappointed.

Depressed, she sat on a rock by the water, using a stick to draw on the wet sand. She drew a picture of the ideal future she had in mind, her as a mermaid, swimming with Alex, with two merbabies beside them. She stared at the picture for a few moments before a small smile appeared on her face and she added a third. Next to them, she drew Tip, Dash, Sebastian, and Flounder, then her grandfather with Atlantica in the background. She made a wavy line above the group before drawing a rowboat, which had her parents and brother sitting in it, and above that a certain seagull.

The drawing wasn't very good, but it made her smile and gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling. Then a wave came up farther than usual and washed away the picture. This brought a frown to Melody's face, and she sighed, hugging her knees and burying her face in between them.

"Alex," she muttered sadly, "where are you?"

She was tempted to just sail out into the open sea and call his name until he responded, but knew that that would be illogical. Besides, she'd done something similar when she was younger and went searching for answers about her locket, not realizing how foolish that had been.

Hearing the sound of wings flapping, she lifted her head to see the very bird she had just drawn.

"Hey, sweetie!" the seagull squawked. "How're things going?"

Being part mermaid allowed Melody to communicate with sea creatures. This apparently also extended to seagulls as well, and a few other birds that lived on or near the water, such as the flamingoes that had sung along with Sebastian 17 years ago when he tried to get her parents to kiss for the first time.

"Hi, Scuttle," she said, trying to be cheerful. She apparently didn't do a good job.

"Whoa," he replied, "something's really got you down. What's happening, kid? Anything I can help with?"

Melody sighed. "I don't think so, not unless you can fly down to Atlantica for me."

"Sorry, kid. Maybe if I were a penguin. Why not ask your friend, Tip?"

"I haven't seen him. Or Dash, or Sebastian, or Flounder, or any of his kids."

Scuttle scratched his head. "What about that blonde guy you're always hanging out with?"

Melody couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face at the way he referred to him. "His name is Alex, and he's the problem. He hasn't been showing up to any of our meetings for a week now."

"Hmm, sorry, sweetie, don't know what to tell you. I'll certainly keep a look out for him and ask around."

"Thank you, Scuttle, I appreciate it."

"Anything for you, sweetie." He took to the air. "By the way, you got some seaweed in your hair. You might want to run a dingle-hopper through it."

With that said, he flew off. As Melody plucked the piece of seaweed from her hair, she wondered if Scuttle would actually find out anything. After all, he was a complete idiot that thought he knew everything, not to mention he was highly eccentric, and almost completely unreliable. But he did have his moments. He had been the one to discover Ursula's identity, lead the charge against her, and he even broke her pendant, thereby returning her mother's voice to her and freeing her father from the spell he was under. Then there was also the time he led everyone to Morgana's secret hideout. And he also apparently saved Sebastian twice. So maybe this would be one of the few times that he proved that he wasn't completely incompetent.

As she held out hope for this, a pair of hands slid over her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"Still no sign of him?" Ariel asked.

Feeling tears prick her eyes, Melody shook her head. "I'm so worried. What if something awful has happened?"

Ariel didn't know what to say. She could only assure her daughter that Alex was all right for so long before she stopped believing it. After a week of him not showing up, her words of reassurance had begun to lose their affect.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said. "I know how much you care about him."

"No, you don't!" Melody cried, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I love him, Mom. I love him so much it hurts. We were going to get married!"

Ariel sucked in air, her body going tense. There it was, out in the open, just as she and her husband had always feared. It looked like their little girl really was going to leave them. She felt tears creep up in her own eyes, but fought to keep them hidden. Now was not the time for her to get upset, not while her daughter was so distressed.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Melody rubbed her eyes. "Alex wanted grandfather's blessings first. But he was nervous about asking his king for his granddaughter's hand; Grandfather can be rather intimidating."

Ariel knew very well what her daughter meant.

"Once he got Grandfather's blessings," she continued, "we would have asked for yours and Dad's. Even if you hadn't agreed, we would have just eloped."

"Oh, Melody," Ariel sighed. "There would have been no need for that. After what your father and I went through to be together, we would have had no right to object to your love life." She turned her daughter to face her. "I'm so very happy for you, and I can't think of anyone better to be your husband."

Melody managed to smile through her tears. "Thanks, Mom." She wiped away her tears. "Don't tell Dad, ok? I want to tell him myself. I shouldn't even have told you yet; Alex and I agreed to tell you both together."

Ariel gave her a smile. "I won't say a word, and I can pretend I don't know." Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "You say Alex was going to ask for your grandfather's blessings. Was he going to do it soon?"

Melody nodded. "I'm of marrying age now, so yes. He was just working up the courage and trying to find the right way to ask."

"Then maybe that's it. Maybe he asked and got your grandfather's blessings. Information like that spreads quickly in Atlantica. Maybe Alex's friends decided to kidnap him for a surprise bachelor's party."

Melody considered this. "Yeah, maybe, but it's been a week."

"They could have dragged him off for a trip. You know, one last guys only vacation before the big event. It's happened before. Boys will be boys after all."

Melody hiccupped. "Yeah… yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Smiling, Ariel brushed her daughter's hair out of her face. "You see, there's probably a perfectly logical explanation. You're probably worried over nothing. I'm sure everything is all right."

Drying her eyes, Melody gave her mother a grateful smile. "Thanks, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

The two hugged, but while Melody was feeling a little more reassured, Ariel felt a heavy weight on her heart. But this was a fear that every parent had, she supposed; that they would lose their child some day, one way or another. But Melody was still a little girl in her eyes. How and when did she grow up so fast? She wasn't ready to let go, not yet. Maybe not ever.

"Mom, you're squeezing me too tight," Melody groaned.

Ariel quickly released her. "I'm sorry, sweetie. It's just that I can't believe my little girl is so grown up."

Melody smiled. "I'll always be your little girl." She reconsidered this. "Well, maybe not so little."

"Right," Ariel agreed. "You're my big girl now. My big, beautiful, brave girl."

They held each other for a while longer, both mother and daughter comforting each other. Finally, Ariel pulled away. "Come on, it's getting late. Lets go inside. I don't think he's coming."

Melody looked longingly at the ocean, then back at her mother. "Just a little longer, Mom. Please?"

Ariel smoothed her daughter's hair. "Sure, hon. Just don't stay out too late."

She got up and headed inside, pausing to look back at her daughter, who had gone back to drawing in the sand. Her heart went out to her, hating to see her so depressed like this.

Though she had provided what she felt was a legitimate reason for Alex's disappearance, she also felt like she was grasping at straws and didn't fully believe it herself. If what she had told her daughter was true, it wasn't like Alex not to send word. Even if he wanted to keep the news a secret until he could tell her himself, he still would have sent some notification.

Ariel would have been furious with Alex for causing her daughter this heartbreak if she too wasn't so worried. She was very fond of Alex, and he was the son of two of her best and oldest friends. His disappearance was quite concerning. She wanted to inquire someone about what was going on, but unless someone from Atlantica showed up, she had no way of getting word to the underwater kingdom.

All she could do was wait and hope.

**(A/N: Cat's out of the bag, sort of. At least Ariel knows of Melody and Alex, to an extent. Not that it'll matter much if Alex remains in Captain Bloodshot's hands. Poor guy, I can't imagine how painful that must be for him. Probably like being trapped in a sauna, only much, much worse. Seems that Hemsworth is feeling sorry for him too, but he has his family foremost in his mind, and the captain is using that to his advantage. Kind of makes you wonder just what you would be willing to do for your family. Oh, and speaking of family, this next pick I found, made by the brilliant artist, **_**grodansnagel**_**, has created a perfect picture of the Little Mermaid royal family, that even includes Dorian! Well, not him since it was made before I thought up this fanfic, but a brother for Melody. Just replace the DOT for actual periods. Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July, and don't forget to leave me a review.)**

th03_**DOT**_deviantart_**DOT**_net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/340/6/7/sing_the_song_of_the_sea_by_grodansnagel-d4ictvu_**DOT**_jpg


	5. Chapter 5: Sympathy

**(A/N: I heard an interesting rumor recently. How many of you have seen **_**Frozen**_**? It's a good movie, but that's not why I brought it up. By now, everyone probably knows that Flynn and Rapunzel make a cameo appearance at Elsa's coronation, well, I also heard that her and Anna's parents were originally setting sail to attend their wedding, and that the ship they were on that sank was actually the same one Ariel and Flounder were exploring when they found the fork in the first movie. This actually makes sense. **_**Tangled**_** takes place in Germany, **_**Frozen**_** takes place in Norway. Sailing from Norway to Germany would take them past Denver, where **_**The Little Mermaid**_** takes place, so it all connects. Disney is known for putting these 'Easter Eggs' in their movies, which is why I'm doing it in this story, so it wouldn't surprise me if this were true. It seems that all Disney films take place in the same universe, just in different time periods and locations. It's called The Grand Unification Disney Theory. These 'Easter Eggs' examples also help support my theory that Alex is Urchin and Gabriella's daughter through visual aspects. They do something similar in the Toy Story series where it shows that Andy's mom may have been Jessie's original owner, and that Sid was the garbage man in the third movie. You really need to keep track of these 'eggs', they make Disney movies really interesting. Make sure to keep an eye out for them in this chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 5: Sympathy**

There was a distinct difference in how he was watered down this time. Unlike before, when the water had been carelessly splashed over him, this time it had gently been poured over his body.

Opening his eyes, Alex saw the human Captain Bloodshot had called Hemsworth holding the now empty bucket. He had noticed this particular human earlier. He was the only crewmember that looked like he didn't want to be here. Alex didn't think much on it as he continued to endure his suffering.

It seemed that Hemsworth had become his assigned caretaker. He came back regularly after that to water Alex down and to feed him. At first the rest of the crew had wanted to only give him fish to eat for fun, but Alex had refused. Hemsworth, who seemed to have some authority over the others, ordered them away, and had been giving Alex seaweed to eat.

At first Alex had thought about refusing even this, but in the end decided to accept it. He needed to keep his strength up so he could escape if and when the opportunity presented itself. He also had to make sure he stayed alive. The captain had made it clear that if he died that they would just catch another merperson to interrogate, and the next one may not be so inclined to hold their silence under this torture.

He struggled against his bindings again, the ropes digging into his skin. He was in bad shape. This constantly being left out to dry until he was on the verge of death was pure torture, but he refused to give in. Every time the captain came and asked if he was ready to talk, Alex would either turn him down or remain silent.

As the days went by, it became clear that the captain was losing his patience. One time, he came before Alex in a drunken state. He'd seized Alex by the hair and slammed his head back against the mast.

"Talk, yeh blasted fish!" he'd yelled. "Tell me where yer home be! Tell me, or I'll gut yeh!"

He'd pulled his sword at that point, pressing the tip of the blade at Alex's chest. Hemsworth had looked like he was about to intervene, but had held back. Another crewmember, however, stepped forward to remind the captain that they needed Alex alive, and to kill him now would mean a lot of wasted time, and the need to capture another merperson.

The captain had bellowed loudly and instead stuck the blade into the chest of the crewmember that had dared to contradict him. Marching off, he shouted for the others to throw the dead crewmember's body overboard, not caring that he had just murdered one of his own men.

Captain Bloodshot was indeed a vile man, and his crew wasn't much better. But Hemsworth was different, Alex could tell. He saw the reluctance in his eyes about the whole situation. There was kindness in him, but also a grim determination. For what, Alex didn't know, but the first mate seemed to have resolved himself that these were the things he had to do.

It was on the third day that Alex tried talking to him. After Hemsworth had watered him down and fed him, Alex said, "Thank you."

He first mate looked startled that Alex had spoken to him, but quickly diverted his gaze. "You're welcome."

Alex hesitated before continuing. "You're different from the others. I can tell. Why do you throw your lot in with the likes of them?"

Hemsworth clearly thought over his words carefully before answering. "We all do what is required of us. Sometimes the things we do aren't always the things we enjoy."

He had left after that, but it was enough for Alex. Perhaps if he could get this man to sympathize with him enough, he could get help. But he had to be strategic. Hemsworth was loyal to the captain for some reason, enough to do horrible things he didn't approve of. But he also sympathized with Alex. If he pushed the human too much too fast, he could lose his sympathy.

So he remained silent for the next few watering periods. On the fourth one, he decided to press his luck again. "Is it true that the captain eats our tails?" At Hemsworth's surprised look, he explained, "One of the crewmembers told me."

The first mate sighed. "I should have realized they would…" He shook his head. "Do you really want to know the truth?"

It was answer enough for Alex. "Then it is true; he really does."

Hemsworth couldn't bring himself to meet the merboy's eyes. "Yes, it's true."

"And you support this barbaric act?"

Now Hemsworth did meet his gaze, his face twisted with anger and disgust. "Of course not! It's repulsive; it borders on cannibalism! But he's the captain! I must obey him!"

It made Alex feel better to know that Hemsworth took no part in this. "And he thinks that by doing so that it will extend his life? Does he realize how ridiculous that is?"

Hemsworth just shook his head. "The captain is delusional. There is no use talking him out of his beliefs, as outrageous as they are."

Alex was silent as he waited for the first mate to calm down. "He's going to kill me, isn't he? Whether I talk or not, he still plans on killing me. Then he'll eat my tail like all the others."

Hemsworth didn't respond. He simply grabbed the empty bucket and began to walk away.

"How many others?" Alex shouted after him, halting Hemsworth in his tracks. "How many of my kind did he slaughter and eat based on his delusions? How many more will he kill before he's satisfied?"

Hemsworth remained silent, but he also stayed where he was, not trying to escape from the merboy's justifiably angry and accusing tone.

"He'll never stop, will he?" Alex asked. "That's why he wants the trident. He wants to control the merfolk so he has an endless supply of my people to feed on."

Still nothing. Hemsworth couldn't find any way to respond. He simply tightened his grip on the bucket and walked away.

They said nothing to each other during the next watering, and remained silent during Alex's feeding. It was at the end of the following watering as Hemsworth was walking away that Alex heard the first mate whisper, "I'm sorry."

It seemed he was making headway with the human, but Alex wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. It had been four days so far of only receiving water every few hours, and the torment was getting to him. Not enough to make him talk, but enough to almost make him wish for death. He found himself constantly praying for rain, even though it wouldn't be as beneficial as seawater.

Close to the end of each drying period before Hemsworth watered him down, Alex would become delirious, and would only be half conscious. These were the worst moments, when he was close to death, only to be rejuvenated by being watered down. But what really worried him was that he wasn't always coherent during these times, and when the captain tried to get him to talk, he was afraid of what he may or may not say while not in his right frame of mind. He found it best to simply say nothing so he wouldn't give away anything without realizing it.

On the fifth day, he tried reaching out to Hemsworth again, this time seeking the first mate's motivation. "Why are you even here? You're not like the rest of these men. They enjoy this lifestyle, but you don't, so why associate yourself with such savages?"

Hemsworth stared at him for a moment before looking out at the sea. "Life is hard sometimes, and some people have it harder than others. My family, it seems was one of the unfortunate ones." He sounded exhausted as he rested his arms on the railing. "We lived in poverty for many years, always scrapping to get by, sometimes not eating for days. Things became even worse when my father got involved with some shady characters. Things didn't work out. We were already poor, but now we were in debt. There just didn't seem to be a way out; not without breaking the law."

He looked up at Alex, and the merboy saw the pain in the man's eyes from the memories. "I have a little brother, you know. He'd be about your age now. One day, he got really sick, and we didn't have the money for medicine. I was desperate to save him, and in my desperation, I ended up doing some pretty terrible things." He looked back at the ocean. "But I don't regret it. I may regret what I did, but not why I did it. When you have someone you care about in trouble, you do whatever you have to do in order to save them. Can you understand that?"

Alex's thoughts immediately went to Melody. "Yes, I can."

A humorless smile crept up Hemsworth's face. "But sometimes, after you do what you have to do, there's no going back. I started down a dark road, and eventually I ended up here. I may not like what I do, but my share of the treasure supports my family."

Alex closed his eyes, feeling pity for this poor man. He wasn't a bad person, despite the cruel things he had done. He had just been desperate to save his those he loved, and had been unfortunate enough to get involved with the wrong kind of people. Now he was stuck in a life he saw no escape from, lorded over by a madman with a wicked nature.

"I'm sorry," he told the poor human, and he meant it.

A look of self-loathing flashed across Hemsworth's face. "Don't apologize, and don't feel sorry for me! I can't take it! I don't deserve! Hate me! Hate me for the things I've done!"

"You're not here by choice," Alex told him. "You were just dealt a bad hand in life."

Hemsworth's fists clenched and he turned his back on him. "I may not be here by choice, but if I could do it all over, I know I would make the same decisions as last time. It saved my family, and I wouldn't change that."

He stormed off after that, needing to get away. With an angry shout, he threw the bucket against the side of the ship.

"Why, Hemsworth, I don' believe I've ever seen yeh so emotional before."

Hemsworth whirled around to find the captain staring at him with interest. "C-Captain Bloodshot… I…"

"It seem like yeh spend a lot o' time talkin' ta the merboy," the captain pointed out.

Hemsworth felt his insides grow cold, but he quickly pulled himself together. "I thought it would be best if he had a friend, someone he could open up to in his time of need and feel comfortable with. I thought it might make him more willing to spill the beans, at least to me."

The captain limped over to him. "Ah, a clever ruse. Pretend ter be his friend 'n' play the part o' the concerned caretaker. A fine idea." He reached down and picked up the bucket his first mate had thrown. "Then why the violent outburst?"

Hemsworth's brain worked overtime to come up with a reasonable excuse. "I grew frustrated when even after playing the friendly caretaker role, he still refused to tell me anything."

The captain casually tossed the bucket aside. "Aye, that be one stubborn mer, that is. But I wonder, why do yeh seem ta be so eager ter get him ta talk? Yeh know that the boy will meet his end once he tells me wha' I want ta know. If memory serves me righ', yeh were rather concerned abou' his wellbein' earlier."

Fortunately, Hemsworth had already come up with a response for this ahead of time. "I don't like to see him suffer, it's true. I don't like to see anyone suffer. But I know it's necessary in order to extract Atlantica's location from him. I would rather just have him tell us so we can put him out of his misery."

"Ah, I see. A mercy killin' fer him is wha' yeh seek. Shame the lad be so stubborn; he be sufferin' needlessly. Sadly, all we can do is wait until he breaks. Everyone has their limit. We'll jus' have ter sit back 'n' wait until he reaches his."

Hemsworth reluctantly nodded in agreement. But as he thought about what he had just told the captain, he realized that it was the truth. He couldn't stand the thought of the poor boy up there suffering. And he hated that he was contributing to it. He wished the boy would just talk so they could end his suffering.

The thought festered inside him like an infection, and Hemsworth turned to the barrels of rum for comfort. He didn't drink often, but he needed to now; he needed to drown out the guilt and self-loathing that was eating away at him.

When the time came for Alex to be watered down, Hemsworth was so out of it, he simply splashed Alex with the bucket of water like the first pirate had rather than gently pouring it over him.

The water rejuvenated Alex, bringing him out of his near death-like state, and he looked down at the first mate. "What was that for?"

"Shaddap!" Hemsworth shouted, drunkingly slurring his speech. "You're a real pain, ya know that? Why won'ts ya jus' tell the capt'n wha' he wants to know? Why'd ya suffer needsly?"

Alex's eyes narrowed. There was no alcohol beneath the sea for obvious reasons, but he was familiar with the human concept of being drunk. "I'm not suffering needlessly."

"You'll talk eventually!" Hemsworth told him. "Why prolong the 'nevitable? Why make me do this to ya? Jus' tell us so we cans puts ya outta your misery!"

Alex scoffed at him. "If you hate doing this so much, then just let me go."

"I can't!" Hemsworth told him. "I gotta do this! I needs the moneys ta s'port my family!"

"I have people I care about too, and I can't sell them out to your captain. So no, I won't tell him anything."

Hemsworth laughed humorlessly. "The capt'n don' even want the trident for ya stupid mers. He can gets 'em another way. He wants it to resurrect Arquan, that stupid thing behinds the curtain!"

Alex's eyes widened at this slip up. Something told him that Hemsworth wasn't supposed to reveal this. He had no idea who or what an Arquan was, but if it was something the captain wanted, then it couldn't be good.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm still not saying anything. This may be painful, but I can live with the torture. The question is, can _you_ live with what you're doing?"

Snarling, Hemsworth turned around. "Dammit!" he bellowed, throwing the goblet of rum he held overboard.

Breathing heavily, he gripped the railing, his nails digging into the wood as he tried to calm down. Alex studied him for a few moments, noting his vulnerability, before speaking. "How long have you been doing this?"

Hemsworth glared at him for a few moments before sighing loudly. "I've been pirating for eight years. The capt'n made me his first mate four years ago."

"Eight years is a long time. When was the last time you saw your family?"

Burying his face in his sleeve, he mumbled, "Two years, the last time we made port where I used to live."

Alex quickly did the math. He was almost 17. If Hemsworth's brother was around his age, then he would be about 16 or 17 as well. And if it had been about two years since they last saw each other, that would mean that his brother had been about 14 or 15 at the time. A person could mature a lot over two years.

"Your brother would be a man now. If it's been two years since you last saw him, then you may not even need to take care of him anymore. He could be working hard and supporting your family without you even knowing. Maybe you don't even need to be here anymore."

Hemsworth tried to think through his drunken state as he considered Alex's words. "That's true, I guess. I s'pose I should write to 'em and finds out the next time we make port."

"Do they know what kind of work you're doing?"

Hemsworth looked horrified at the thought. "Course not! And they must never knows. They'd be so ashamed of me. _I'm_ ashamed of me."

Alex nodded in agreement. "You should get out. Leave this life behind. Your brother should be old enough to support himself now, so it won't be such a burden on your family. Things may not even be as bad as you think anymore. A lot can happen in two years."

Hemsworth stared at him a long while. The conversation seemed to be sobering him up. He was still intoxicated, but he seemed to be able to think more rationally now. "I can't let you go. The capt'n would kill me if I even tried."

Alex sighed. "I understand, but you should still get out anyway. I wasn't telling you this for my benefit. These men are evil, especially the captain. You're too good for this kind of life. Get out while you still can."

There was more silence as Hemsworth seemed to have an internal debate with himself. "You're a strange fellow," he finally said, and stumbled off to his cabin to sleep off what would undoubtedly be a massive hangover.

Alex watched him go and sighed heavily. It seemed he had just lost his only chance to escape from here.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Melody rushed towards the beach, her heart racing, and not from the physical exertion. It had now been eight days since Alex had gone missing. Today, however, there was a mer sighting. One of the servants had come to report that King Triton himself had arrived, and that he had brought guests.

Melody had rushed off the moment the news had been delivered, much to the displeasure of her instructor, whom she had run out on. She could finally get some answers on what was happening with Alex. If anyone could shed light on the situation, it was her grandfather. She just prayed that all was well, but deep down she knew that if the sea king himself had come, it meant something serious had happened.

Once outside, she saw her parents at the end of the pier talking to her grandfather. Dorian was in her mother's arms, and he seemed to be struggling to get to the sea king. Sebastian was on his shoulder, and there were also two other merpeople that Melody recognized as Alex's parents. Both looked worried, his father grasping his wife's hands in his.

Ariel turned to her daughter as she joined them on the pier. "Melody…"

"What's happening?" she cried. "Where's Alex?"

Urchin and Gabriella exchanged concerned looks. "We were hoping you knew," the former replied since his wife couldn't speak.

"Eet seems dat Alex has been meessing for over a week," Sebastian told her. "No one knows where he ees."

Melody felt the strength in her legs leave her and she fell to her knees, not carrying that she might ruin her very expensive dress. "No…"

Triton looked at her sadly. "I'm afraid so. We've been sending out search parties, but there has been no sign of him anywhere."

Melody couldn't stop the stream of tears from running down her cheeks. "Why didn't you tell me?" She crawled to the end of the pier, giving her grandfather a desperate look. "Why didn't you tell me!?"

Guilt was clearly written across his face, and Sebastian came to his king's defense. "Melody, my child, we just deedn't want to worry you. We know how close you are to him."

"You had no right!" she shouted in her grief. "I deserved to know! You had no right!"

Eric gently touched her shoulder. "Melody, calm down."

She shook him off. "No, I won't calm down! I want to know where he is!"

"We're still searching," Triton told her. "Sebastian and your friends said he was last seen trying to free several fish from a net."

Gabriella signed something, but Melody was too distressed to try and remember what Alex had taught her, and Eric had never learned sign language.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked.

"She said according to Tip and Dash, they were fishermen," Urchin translated. "Alex was trying to cut their nets."

Sebastian nodded. "He was cutting dee other feesh free when he told us to go eenform dee keeng dat dere were humans feeshing."

"Which is another matter we must discuss," Triton added. "These men are in violation of the no fishing law."

Eric nodded in agreement. "I'll send a fleet to find the ship in question."

"What about Alex?" Melody cried. "He has to be somewhere!" A horrible thought occurred to her. "What if he's…?"

"He would be of no use to the fishermen," said Triton. "And if they killed him, we would have found his body dead, but we haven't found anything. He must still be out there somewhere."

"He's beating up the bad guys!" Dorian exclaimed. He began punching and kicking in his mother's arms. "Take that, you bad fishermen! And that!"

"Settle down," Ariel told him, patting his head.

"Melody," said Urchin, "did Alex have any intentions of going away for a while?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then you have no idea where he could be?"

"No!"

Urchin sighed and hung his head. "We knew it was a long shot, but we had to ask. We were thinking that maybe he went to investigate where these fishermen were doing business, or something."

Gabriella signed something to him, and he wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"Don't worry," he told her, "we'll keep looking. We won't give up on him."

Melody stood up. "I'll help too!"

"We all will," Eric replied. "I'll have the ships get ready to set sail."

Melody shook her head. "No, I meant that I'll go with them," she motioned towards her grandfather and Alex's parents, "into the sea."

"Now Melody-" her mother began.

"Merfolk can swim faster than a ship can sail," Melody interrupted, "and we probably won't have much luck finding him from on board a ship anyway."

Ariel shared a look with her husband. They both had the same concern, but to Ariel, who knew of her daughter's future plans from their talk, had all the more reason to worry. They feared that if Melody went back to the sea now, she would never return to land, whether they found Alex or not, and they weren't ready for that yet.

"Melody," she began, "we understand your concern, but what could you possibly do on your own?"

"Whatever I can," she stubbornly replied, holding her chin up high like a proud member of the royal family.

"But-"

"What would you do if it were Dad that had gone missing?"

Ariel fell silent and looked to her husband. The two of them stared at each other a moment, seeming to share a thought. Finally, Eric gave his wife a small smile in reluctant approval. Their daughter was right, there were more pressing matters at hand than their selfish parental concerns. Alex was missing, and there was a ship in violation of the no fishing law. They had to do whatever they could.

Sighing, Ariel set down her son. "All right, but I'm going with you. You don't exactly know your way around."

Gratitude filled Melody's face and she hugged her parents. "Thank you."

Gabriella signed something, and Urchin translated. "You have our deepest gratitude as well."

"I'll go too!" Dorian declared. "I'll be the fastest merman in the whole sea! And if any mean sharks show up, I'll just, _wham, pow,_ whack them with my tail." He looked at his grandfather. "Can I have a blue one?"

Despite the situation, Triton smiled. "I'm afraid we don't get to choose the color, just like our hair or eyes. But I think it would be better if you stayed with your father."

Dorian stubbornly stomped his foot. "But I want to help! I can help!"

Eric got down to his son's level. "You will. You'll be helping me. I could really use your assistance on the ship."

Dorian seemed to think this over. "Can I climb up to the crow's nest?"

There was no way Eric was letting his four year old son go way up there, but he pretended to think it over. "We'll see."

"Yay!"

Smiling down at her son, Ariel turned to her daughter. They stood side by side and joined hands. Triton pointed his trident at them, and a sparkling beam of platinum light shot out of it. The light flowed over both mother and daughter, lifting them into the air, and swirling around them in a magical vortex.

Melody felt the magic flow through her, transforming her. Her insides were altered to allow her to breathe underwater, and addition organs materialized to allow for handling water pressure and diving down deep. Her senses adjusted as well, adapting for underwater, and the darker areas of the deeper parts of the ocean. But it was in her legs that the change was most noticeable. Her two limbs fused together and changed shape, the skin changing into scales, her feet into fins. Her dress and other garments dissolved into light particles, vanishing entirely, and her hair flowed freely from her ribbon. Her top didn't disappear entirely, but the last shred of material changed. She now wore a pale yellow seashell bra like other mermaids, though her golden locket remained around her neck.

Looking down, she saw that her legs were gone. In their place was her tail, her beautiful tail that she had last seen four years ago. Orangish-pink in color, it sparkled as if it were covered in diamonds, ending in translucent tailfins of a lighter shade of pink. It was just as she remembered it, perhaps even grander now that she was older. It felt perfect, like it was always meant to be there.

Beside her, Ariel had finished her transformation as well. Her turquoise-green tail sparkled like a thousand diamonds. Her clothes had dissolved away as well her top becoming a purple shell bra, and her red hair flowed out around her as if in a breeze.

The magic faded, and both mother and daughter splashed into the water. Right away, Melody felt a feeling of coming home. It was exhilarating, the water caressing her body like silk, the weightlessness making her feel like she could fly.

Looking down at her lower body, she reached down and stroked her tail. It was more sensitive than the rest of her body, and the scales didn't feel bumpy or rough, but were smooth and pleasing to the touch. She felt the strength in it, knowing she could swim at top speed for several hours without getting tired.

The first couple of breaths felt a little awkward, but her body quickly got used to breathing water instead of air. Once the fluid entered her lungs, it became as natural and as unnoticeable as breathing on land.

Her vision adjusted right away. She saw things clearer and brighter than she did on land. Her hearing was now suited for underwater as well, and she could smell the pleasant and numerous scents of the ocean.

Despite the situation with Alex, she felt a rush of joy at returning to her mermaid form for the first time in over four years. In her excitement, she couldn't resist leaping out of the water and doing a flip in the air.

She splashed back down in the water, glad to have gotten that out of her system. Her grandfather swam over and smiled at her fondly, his eyes shining with pride. Ariel smiled sadly as well, glad to see her daughter happy for the first time in days. It didn't last long as the whole reason this had been necessary settled in again.

Melody surfaced, her adaptable lungs adjusting to breath air again. Her father and brother stared down at her, the former in complete awe at seeing his daughter as a mermaid for the first time.

"You're practically naked!" Dorian screamed, looking like he was about to laugh.

"Hush, Dorian," Eric scolded. "You've seen mermaids before." He looked back down at his daughter. "You're beautiful." Although he did agree with Dorian and wished she was wearing a bit more.

Ariel came up next to her daughter, and Eric immediately found his gaze drawn to her. She was as stunningly beautiful as the first time he saw her, only now she was more mature. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and kiss her.

"How's it feel to have a tail?" Dorian asked.

It felt wonderful, Melody wanted to tell him, but there was no time to explain all the details to satisfy her brother's curiosity. "I'll tell you later," she said. "Right now we need to start searching. We should probably start where he was last seen and go from there."

Triton swam over to them. "The fish that had been netted have already given their account of the event. They all claim that after Alex freed them that a whirlpool suddenly appeared and sucked him up."

"I'm afraid I deedn't witneess dat," Sebastian added. "We had already left before dat happened."

"A whirlpool?" Ariel repeated, recalling that she had been caught up in a whirlpool before, twice actually. Once when Ursula had tried to kill her, and once when trying to rescue the twin merbabies she had been babysitting after the Mobster Lobster kidnapped them.

"Indeed," the sea king replied. "They said that it lasted only a few seconds and it vanished as soon as it came, and Alex disappeared along with it."

Ariel tapped her chin. "Sounds like some magic may have been involved."

"That's what we were thinking," said Urchin.

"I have experienced such magic myself," said Sebastian. "Several years ago, a beeg blue human seemed to pull me out of a book. One meenute I was een dee ocean, den I was een dee desert clinging to dees blue man's feenger. He tossed me aside, and I was suddenly een dee ocean again."

"Sebastian," Triton sighed impatiently, "I told you, that must have been a dream you had."

"Well, I'm sorry to deesagree with you, sire, but I know for sure, eet was not a dream. Perhaps Alex had some kind of seemilar experience."

Melody didn't care what the reason was. "Magic or not, we have to find him. Now lets go."

Without waiting for a response, she took off swimming, the memories and instinct of how to use her tail coming back to her. She had no destination in mind, but she needed to start searching, now.

"We will, Melody. We will," her grandfather called after her, but she was already too far off to hear him. "One way or another."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Alex had lost track of the number of days he'd been here. All he knew was pain and exhaustion. Not too long ago, when the captain saw that Alex wasn't breaking, he had decided that in addition to the agony of drying out, he was to be deprived of sleep.

"Sleep deprivation be a torture in it's own right," he had said.

With a heavy heart, Hemsworth had been forced to prevent Alex from falling asleep. If he did, Hemsworth was to immediately wake him up.

The plan was that by depriving Alex of sleep would not only make him more likely to talk, but would get him to say things unintentionally. More than once, Alex found himself muttering things that didn't make sense without even realizing that he was talking at all. He had also begun hallucinating, and couldn't seem to keep his mind focused in his exhaustion. The captain would talk to him during these times, hoping Alex would slip up, and he almost did.

The only relief was when he passed out. The pain and exhaustion took a toll on his body, and he eventually began falling unconscious. These were the merciful moments, for they allowed him to temporarily escape the burning agony, and to get a few moments of sleep while Hemsworth tried to rouse him.

Of course, being Alex's caretaker and being forced to keep him awake meant that Hemsworth didn't get much sleep either. At the moment, he was out like a light in a chair set up beside the mast, a bucket of water at his feet for Alex's next watering.

Dazed and confused, and in horrible agony, Alex almost wished that Hemsworth would sleep through the scheduled watering, and finally allow death to claim him so he could escape this torment. He was so tired that he was on the verge of falling asleep again. Maybe he would perish in his sleep and wake up in a better place. He hoped he would dream of Melody, so that the last thing he would see in this world was her beautiful face.

"Incoming!"

There was a loud _thud_ above his head, as if something had just crashed into the mast. A few white feathers rained down around him, and he felt a pair of bird feet on top of his head.

"Hey, Blondie, where have you been?"

The voice was familiar, but he was too out of it to identify who it belonged to. It wasn't until a blurry white face appeared upside down in his line of vision that he began to think rationally.

"Who is it?" he mumbled.

"What, you don't recognize me?" the voice exclaimed. "We've known each other for, like, four years."

Alex blinked a few times and his vision began to clear, the face coming into focus. "Scuttle?"

"There you go! You had me worried there for a minute. What are you doing hanging up here in the sun? Do you have a death wish? Don't you know how bad that is for you? Everyone's already worried sick about you. They've been looking for you everywhere."

"Scuttle, shut up!" Alex snapped, keeping his voice low. He glanced at the sleeping Hemsworth. "Don't wake him up."

Scuttle glanced at the first mate, then looked back at Alex. "What? He's human. It's not like he can understand me."

"He can understand _me_, and he can still hear you even if he can't understand you, so talk quieter."

The seagull winked. "Oh, I gotcha, I gotcha. We're undercover."

Alex shushed him. "Quiet, he can't find out I'm talking to you." He checked to make sure Hemsworth was still asleep as best as he could from where he was. "Now, Scuttle, I need you to listen to me _very_ carefully. This is extremely important."

"Ok, shoot."

"Scuttle, I'm very serious. I need you to focus. The safety of Atlantica rides on this."

Scuttle nodded and winked again. "Right. Very important. Top priority."

"Ok, now, I need you to go and tell King Eric and Queen Ariel that I have been captured by pirates. Tell them that they're hunting merfolks, and that they're after the sea king's trident."

Scuttle scratched his head. "Well, that don't make much sense. How do you think they're going to pull that off?"

"Just be quiet and listen. They plan to take either the princess or the queen hostage and use them for blackmail."

Scuttle whistled. "Whoa, that's pretty darn rotten."

"Just go, and make it fast. Their captain is getting pretty agitated. He's already leaving me out to dry and preventing me from sleeping because he wants to know Atlantica's location. I'm afraid I might slip up."

"Yeah, sure, no problem." He seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation. "You can count on me. But what about you? I can't just leave you here to die. Let me try and get you out."

He grabbed the end of the rope and attempted to work it out of the knot. All he managed to accomplish was to make it even tighter.

"Stop, Scuttle, stop, stop, _stop!_ You're cutting off my circulation!" He breathed a sigh of relief when Scuttle let go of the rope and his blood flow resumed. "Don't worry about me. I'll just have to tough it out. The important thing is warning everyone else. Now hurry and go." A thought occurred to him as he recalled Captain Bloodshot's plan. "And make sure Melody stays away. Knowing her, she'll want to come, but make sure she stays away, her and her mother. Understand?"

Scuttle saluted. "I got it, sir. You can count on me. Just hang in there until help arrives. We'll get you out of here, then we'll take care of these pirates."

Alex watched him as he flew away, feeling both hopeful and worried. With these pirates threatening his kingdom, the sea king would have to act. And if he knew Melody, and he did, she would undoubtedly try to go along with the assault team/rescue party. But she had to stay away. If the captain got his filthy hands on her or her mother, it was all over. King Triton would be forced to give into the deranged captain's demands.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. And, also hopefully, he would be out of here soon, and this burning torture and sleep deprivation would end. He wasn't sure how much more he could take. Perhaps he should have asked Scuttle to get him some water before he left.

Automatically, he found his gaze shift to the bucket of water at the first mate's feet. He felt a jolt of worry in his heart as his eyes passed over the human's face. He couldn't be sure, but he could have sworn that Hemsworth had been watching him with one eye cracked open a moment ago.

**(A/N: Seems that Alex made a lot of progress with Hemsworth, though it seemed to amount to nothing in the end. Or did it? Was Alex seeing things at the end, or was the first mate really awake and listening to him? And if he was, will he tell the captain, or feign ignorance? You'll have to wait and see, but Hemsworth isn't all that bad, he's just more or less trapped in his position. He's a very complex character. On another note, both Ariel and Melody have returned to the sea, and one may never return to land. By the way, how'd I do describing the transformation scene? I was really trying to capture the beauty and magic from the second film when Ariel turned back into a mermaid. I mean, in the first film, when Ursula turned her into a human it was rather crude and brutal, and when Triton did it, we didn't see much. Melody's two transformations in the second movie didn't have anything special, but Ariel's transition from human to mermaid was truly beautiful, and I tried to recreate the scene. I hope I did it right. As before, for the link below, replace the DOT with actual periods.)**

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	6. Chapter 6: Making Preparations

**(A/N: I had someone ask if the big blue man Sebastian mentioned last chapter was Genie. Yes it was. If you'll recall from **_**Aladdin**_**, when Genie was looking through a book to grant the Aladdin's first wish, Sebastian was pulled from the book, clinging to his finger. Oh, and speaking of **_**Aladdin**_**, there's a fan theory that it actually takes place over 10,000 years in the future in a post-apocalyptic world rather than in the past. This theory stems from the fact that there is 21st technology that Genie conjures up in the movies and TV series, and since he had been in the lamp for 10,000 years, he would have had too have been around to know about that technology. While this is an interesting theory, I actually have a much simpler one. A genie is all-powerful; in fact, there are only three wishes a genie can't grant. Therefore, it stands to reason a genie's magic simply transcends time. So, now that I've said that, lets get back to the next chapter. The search is on.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 6: Making Preparations**

It was a real shame she couldn't enjoy the wonders of Atlantica. This was the second time she had been here, and once again she was too preoccupied to truly appreciate its beauty.

As a matter of fact, it was right around here where she first met Alex. She could still remember that day as if it were yesterday. The underwater city was definitely beautiful, but he had been the most beautiful thing about it. She still couldn't believe she had acted that way. She may have been somewhat shy around boys, but when she ran into him, she had been reduced to a stuttering idiot. She had even completely forgotten her mission for Morgana for a little while. It was a good thing Tip had been there to remind her. Thank goodness she hadn't made a fool out of herself the second time they ran into each other after she destroyed the wall around her home.

Attraction was one thing, but love, romantic love, had been a foreign concept for her back then. She never imagined she could feel the way she did now. It had happened so fast too. Her mother had said that it had been similar for her when she fell for her father, quick and hard. Which only made sense; like mother, like daughter. It had just, _bam_, hit her, like lightning.

There had been some complications before her parents had been allowed to be together, but everything eventually worked itself out. Now, it seemed, she and Alex were going through their own series of complications. At least there was no sea witch involved this time.

Or was there? Maybe not a sea witch, but some other magical being. The ocean was full of magic and mystery. Ursula and Morgana aside, there was also the former Evil Manta and his son, the sealed away Sea Sorceress, the phony Wishing Starfish, the magic talking cave, the sorcerous blowfish, and these were only the things she knew of from her mother's adventures.

Had there indeed been magic involved with Alex's disappearance? The fish that had been witness to it had said that he had simply vanished. Was the whirlpool he had been caught up in just before he disappeared one of magic?

Whatever the case, magical or otherwise, she didn't care. She was going to find him, then they were going to deal with this fishermen problem, then they would live out the rest of their lives happily together like their parents.

But that was easier said than done. Asking around the palace had proved to be useless, and asking around the city hadn't been of any help either. No one seemed to know where Alex was, not even Tide or Sea-Sea, though they had quickly joined the search to find their friend when they discovered that he was missing.

While in Atlantica, she got to reunite with her aunts, and they with their sister. It would have been a nice family reunion if it had been under different circumstances. She could have gotten to know her aunts a lot better, and maybe finally get their names right since she still occasionally got their names mixed up. Apparently, her grandparents really liked names that began with the letter 'A'.

"Not to worry," said her Aunt Aquata. "We'll find him. He's like our nephew, and we never give up on family."

Melody almost told them that if all turned out well, Alex soon _would_ be family, but decided to keep it to herself. "Have there been any cases like this before?"

"Missing persons cases?" asked Aunt Arista. "Sometimes. Usually it's because someone gets eaten by a shark."

The color drained from Melody's face and she felt sick. That had been more information than what she was looking for. It hadn't been what she meant either. She knew that there were dangers in the sea, just as there were dangers on land, but she didn't need such details. Sharks were the biggest danger, but while some were capable of thinking rationally, like Undertow, most of them were simply driven by hunger and instinct.

Aunt Andrina punched Aunt Arista's shoulder. "That's not what she meant, you dunce." She looked back at her niece. "Don't worry so much, that very rarely happens."

"Never mind," said Melody impatiently. "Are you sure that no one has seen him since he disappeared?"

Aunt Alana shook her head sadly. "There's been no sign of him anywhere. It just doesn't make any sense. Whirlpools can't make people disappear."

"But there were witnesses," Aunt Adella replied. "He was sucked up, and then just disappeared with it."

"We've all heard the reports," said Aunt Attina. "We just can't make sense of them."

Melody sighed, realizing that this debating wasn't going anywhere. "I'm going up to see Dad, maybe he found something."

"Melody, wait!" Ariel called after her, but she was already gone.

Melody swam out of Atlantica and up towards the surface. It was a good thing her body was now built to handle the change in water pressure, otherwise she would have suffered from decompression sickness, which would more commonly become known as the bends in the future. Upon reaching the surface, she looked around and spotted the tiny figure of a ship upon the horizon. It was too far away to tell, but she hoped it was her father's ship, or at least one of the search parties he had sent out, and she sped towards it.

It wasn't her father's ship, but it was one of the search parties. After getting confirmation that there had been no sightings of Alex or the fishermen from them, she was pointed in the direction her father's ship and gone in.

It was a good thing merfolk could swim so fast, but then they needed to in order to outswim sharks and such. They could certainly swim faster than a ship, and Melody made it to the next closest one in a matter of minutes. This one was indeed her father's ship.

"Ahoy up there!" she called to get the crew's attention.

When a crewmember looked overboard and spotted her, they tossed down a rope. Melody tied it around her waist and gave it a tug, allowing the crewmember to be pull her up.

"Fetch my father, please," she said once she reached the deck.

"Right away, princess," the crewmember replied, tying off the end of the rope.

As Melody hung in the air, she heard her name being called from beneath her. Looking down, she saw that her mother had finally caught up. She quickly gave the order to more crewmembers to hoist her up as well.

Her father arrived just as her mother reached deck level. "Any luck?" he asked.

Melody sadly hung her head, and her mother placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nothing yet. I assume you haven't found anything either?"

Eric shook his head. "Afraid not. No sign of the fishermen's ship either."

Melody wanted to say that she didn't really care about the fishermen, but it wasn't true; she was just distraught. Her biggest concern may have been for Alex, but she was also worried about the poor fish that might have been caught up in the fishermen's nets. Hopefully, Alex had managed to cut them all from the ship so no more fish could be caught before he disappeared.

One of the crewmembers nearby looked hesitant, but then cleared his throat and spoke his mind. "Um, excuse me, your majesties, I understand why we're searching for the fishermen, they're violating our laws, but why are we spending so much time trying to find a single merman that's gone missing?"

Melody's eyes flashed angrily and she nearly fell back into the water as she turned furiously towards the crewmember. "What did you just say? How dare you! Alex is not just any merman! He's special! He's… he's… he's mine!"

The crewman looked startled by her outburst and backed way with his hands held up. "Forgive me, princess. I meant no disrespect. I'm just trying to understand. I know we have an alliance with the merfolk, but we can't be expected to search for a single missing one of them every time something happens, just as we can't be expected to go rushing off to other kingdoms when someone there goes missing."

With everything that had been going on for the past few days, Melody was stressed out and had become easily agitated lately from constantly worrying. Her mother realized she was about to go off the deep end and tried to calm her.

"He's asking a legitimate question, sweetie. He doesn't understand the situation entirely." She turned to the crewmember. "Alex is a close personal… friend of hers. And his parents and I have known each other since we were children. We're like family, and we have even saved each other's lives on occasions. Therefore, the situation requires special attention from us given the circumstances of the disappearance."

The crewmember bowed his head. "Forgive me, my queen. I had no idea we were searching for someone of such importance. We shall not rest until the situation resolves itself, and I shall spread word to the importance of our search to the rest of the crew."

"See that you do," Melody unintentionally snapped.

Frowning, Ariel wrapped her arm around her daughter in a comforting attempt. "It'll be ok. We'll find him, but you won't do him any good by getting so upset."

Melody sighed. "I know, I know, and I'm sorry. I'm just… so worried about him. I don't know what I'll do if anything happened to him." Her bottom lip trembled as she voiced her the deepest concern that had been on her mind. "I keep thinking that those fishermen may have killed him for cutting their nets and fed his body to sharks, and that's why we can't find him anywhere."

A sickening feeling developed in Ariel's stomach at the possibility and she looked at her husband for support. Eric thought about it for a moment before giving what he hoped was the right answer.

"I won't deny that it's not an impossibility, but it is unlikely. Fishing is violation enough, but that would be murder. Besides, we were informed that there were hundreds of fish witnesses, remember? They all reported the same thing; that he disappeared after having been sucked into a whirlpool. So he's not dead."

Yes, Melody remembered. She still didn't understand how he could just vanish out of thin air like that, nor could the witnesses explain it, but they had all made the same claims. Perhaps it was the not knowing that made it the most difficult. There were too many negative scenarios she could envision. At least if she knew what had happened she could deal with coping with the situation instead of having all this uncertainty.

"Whoa, heads up!"

The cry was heard in words by Ariel and Melody, but the other occupants on the ship merely heard loud squawks.

"Eric, duck!" Ariel shouted.

He barely managed to get down before a white bundle of feathers soared over his head, plowing into the sail and bouncing back onto the deck.

"Oi, rough landing," the bird muttered.

"Scuttle?" said Ariel. "What are you doing here?"

The seagull hopped to his feet and began dusting himself off. "Going too fast to have a smooth landing, apparently. I've been flying from ship to ship trying to find you guys. And these humans can't understand a word I say."

Melody knew this was because seagulls were, technically, of the sea, thus allowing merfolks to communicate with them. Humans, however, lacked this skill. But as her attention shifted to their dog, Max, she began to wonder why land dwellers couldn't communicate with land animals the way merfolk could with sea creatures. Maybe they had been able to at one point, but had grown too separate from nature over time. She had heard of some cases where people did have a good understanding with animals; supposedly, a group of friendly forest animals had once led a lost princess to a cottage of seven dwarves, and she even heard rumors of certain natives that were capable of speaking to an old willow tree, though Melody wasn't sure she believed that, or the Inuit legend of a hunter, and later his future wife, turning into a bear in order to take care of a cub's mother that had been killed.

Her father demonstrated his own lack of understanding of what Scuttle was saying. "What's the story?" he asked, only hearing squawks. "Any news?"

"We're not sure yet," said Ariel. She turned back to the seagull. "What happened, Scuttle? Did you find out anything?"

"Did I find out anything?" the bird practically scoffed, though not in a rude manner. "Did I ever. I know exactly where Blondie is."

"You do?" Melody cried, reaching for him. "Where? Where?"

She began shaking him, not completely realizing what she was doing in her desperate attempt to hear more.

"Whoa, easy, sweetie! I'm not a baby's noisy shakerer."

He meant rattle, or at least that was what Melody assumed he was talking about; it was very common for him to make up strange names for human objects. "Sorry," she muttered as she released him. "Please tell us where he is."

Scuttle regained his composure. "Sure thing, sweetie. It seems he was caught, and is being held captive on board a ship."

"On a ship?" Ariel repeated. "Then it really was those fisherman. But why would they want to hold a merman captive, and what about all the witnesses' accounts about him getting sucked up in that disappearing whirlpool?

Scuttle shrugged. "Don't know nothing about a vanishing whirlpool; sounds like some kind of myth to me. Oh, and by the way, those fishermen you're looking for, they ain't fishermen; they're pirates."

"Pirates?" Ariel and Melody exclaimed.

"Where?" Eric cried in alarm as he and the other crewmembers within earshot began looking around worriedly.

This time it was Ariel who grabbed Scuttle. "Are you sure? There are actual pirates in these waters?"

The seagull pulled free from her grip. "Sheesh, what's with you two being so grabby today? And yes, I'm sure they're pirates. They sailed under a pirate flag, and Blondie said as much."

"What's he saying?" Eric demanded, frustrated that he couldn't understand the bird.

"It's the fishermen we're looking for," Ariel told him. "They're not fishermen, they're pirates."

Eric looked at Scuttle. All the seagulls looked the same to him, but he recognized the name. Scuttle was his wife and daughter's friend, though he was at a loss at how they could tell him apart from the others. He also recalled how four years ago a seagull had flown onto his ship while he was out searching for his daughter and had made such a racket while pulling on his shirt and hair until it had finally gotten his complete attention and then led him to Morgana's lair where his wife and daughter were. If this was indeed the same bird, then Eric trusted it completely.

His fists clenched and an angry scowl crossed his face. "No wonder they had no qualms about fishing. Pirates always live outside the law, doing what's beneficial and convenient for them, regardless of the people they hurt or the laws they break. All the more reason we need to find them."

Scuttle scoffed. "Buddy, you don't know the half of it," he muttered, forgetting that Eric couldn't understand him. He turned back to the two mermaids. "According to Blondie, these pirates are specially hunting merfolk."

Ariel and Melody's eyes widened. "What?" the latter cried. "Why?"

"To what end?" Ariel asked.

The seagull shrugged. "Beats me. Blondie said something about them wanting to get the sea king's… uh… his… um… What was it called again? That pointy thing that looks like a giant dinglehopper."

"Daddy's/Grandfather's trident!" the two mermaids cried.

"That's the word," Scuttle replied. "That thing you just said that sounds like his name."

Melody looked at her mother. "What would pirates want with Grandfather's trident?"

Ariel shook her head. "We can only guess, but greed can be a powerful thing. The trident holds complete power over the weather, the sea, and everything in it. Any power hunger person would desire it." She looked back at her feathered friend. "Can you lead us back to the ship?"

"Course I can," Scuttle replied confidentially. "It was in that direction. No, wait, _that_ direction."

Melody noticed that he was pointing in the opposite direction from which he had come from. "But you came from the other way."

Scuttle blinked and then pointed in the correct direction. "Right, I meant that way."

Melody gave her mother an uncertain look. The older woman just sighed and looked to her husband. "We'll need Scuttle to stay behind so he can show us where to go. Can you set a course in that direction while I go and report this to Daddy?"

Eric pulled out a compass and got the heading for where Scuttle was pointing. "North by North-West. Got it. I'll lead the fleet while you do what you have to do." He gave them a nervous look. "I know you can swim faster than we can sail, but would it be too much to ask that you wait for us."

Melody's response was immediate and predictable. "I am not waiting around while Alex is being held captive by pirates! He could be dead by the time we get there. I'm telling Grandfather what we know, and then I'm going."

She untied the rope around her waist and dropped back down into the water. Ariel sighed and untied herself to join her daughter.

Back up on deck, Scuttle scratched his head. "Wait, I think there was something else I was supposed to mention. Something about a certain someone not coming along." He thought about it, but came up empty and eventually gave up. "Oh well, it probably wasn't that important."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"They're what?" Triton thundered furiously.

"Hunting merfolk," Ariel told him. "Apparently, these pirates want your trident. They seem to be using Alex as bait."

Triton sighed in aggravation, running his hand through his hair. "Could your seagull friend be wrong? He's not the most… reliable source of information."

Sebastian reluctantly spoke in defense of their feathered friend. "He ees when eet's eemportant," he said, quoting the bird from the time he saw through Ursula's disguise. "At least he's not like all dee others dat go around screaming 'mine, mine, mine,' all day long."

The sea king stroked his beard as he considered this. "If these pirates want my trident, then they shall face its power. Gather the guards and prepare them for battle. If these humans want a war, then we will give them a war."

"But what about Alex?" Melody asked worriedly.

Triton gently cupped her chin. "Not to worry. We'll set him free, and then we'll make those humans pay for what they've done to him and the rest of our kind."

As queen, Ariel felt the need to speak up. "Daddy, I understand that these men have wronged merkind, but I think it would be better if Eric and I deliver justice upon them once they're caught."

Her father's eyes flashed with disapproval. "Since they're human? That should not be relevant."

Ariel shook her head. "No, that's not why. As pirates, these men have violated our laws, and thus should be punished according to them."

"They have been hunting our kind!"

"And it shall be taken into account, as shall your opinion on the matter when the time to pass judgment on them comes. But I don't think it would be a good idea to allow you to sentence them. Pirates are despicable; they may attempt to use the situation to cause strain between merfolk and humans to escape judgment. Some people still think that merfolk are evil sirens that lure sailors to their deaths."

"She has a point, your majesty," Sebastian remarked. "And we can't exactly keep dem een our dungeons down here, for obvious reasons."

Triton thought about it, then sighed. "Very well, you are right. But I would like you and your husband to take our opinion under advisement."

Ariel nodded. "We will, Daddy. Besides, the penalty for a life of piracy is severe. If they're lucky enough to escape the hangman's noose, they'll receive life imprisonment."

Triton frowned. "Even for their crimes against our kind, merfolk do not believe in the death penalty." It was the whole reason why he had only frozen Morgana instead of killing her, why Ursula had been banished from the palace to begin with, why Evil Manta and the Sea Sorceress had only been sealed away. Killing in the heat of battle was one thing, but pointless killing after the battle was won was forbidden, and greatly looked down upon in the mer culture. "Life imprisonment shall be sufficient." He looked at Urchin and Gabriella. "If that satisfies the two of you."

Urchin looked at his wife, who nodded. "It does."

"Good," said Melody impatiently, "Can we go now?"

"I shall assemble dee guards," said Sebastian, and swam off.

"And you can count on us. Titanic Tip."

"And Daring Dash."

"Reporting for duty!"

Flounder cut his eyes at them. "Really guys? You're going to face off against vicious cutthroat pirates that would kill you as soon as they would look at you?"

The penguin and walrus hesitated. After sharing an uncertain look, Tip spoke up. "Actually, now that I think about it, this may be a bit out of our jurisdiction."

Dash nodded in agreement. "Oh, yes, definitely out of our jurisdiction."

"I think it would be better if we remained on standby, as backup, of course."

"Yeah, that would definitely be for the best."

Gills swam forward. "We'll help too."

"Yeah!" his siblings cheered.

Flounder rounded on them. "Absolutely not! You're staying here with your mother!"

"Aww!"

Melody began fidgeting nervously. "What if they hurt Alex when we go after them?"

The sea king held up his trident. "It will be fine. As long as I have my trident, we'll hold the advantage." He gave her a suspicious look. "And what do you mean by 'we'? You are not coming."

Melody crossed her arms and held her chin up high. "Yes, I am!"

"You most certainly are not," Ariel said sternly. "It's too dangerous."

"I want to be there for Alex," she argued back. "I'll just be there as a bystander if you want, but I am going."

"Melody-" her grandfather began.

"You said yourself that everything would be all right as long as you have your trident."

Triton pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on as he was trapped by his own arrogant remark. "Very well," he grumbled reluctantly, "but you are to obey me at all times and without question. Is that understood?"

Melody nodded in agreement, just glad that she was being allowed to go along, though she would have found her own way to follow them if she had to.

Ariel still didn't like the idea of her daughter being around pirates, and she swam up to her father to convey her worries. "Daddy, I don't think this is a good idea."

He sighed. "I don't like it any more than you do, but she's too much like you, and I know that you wouldn't just sit ideally by. At least this way we can keep her safe."

"I can hear you, you know," Melody told them. "And you're right. I'll sneak out and find my own way there if I have to."

"That's not necessary," the sea king replied. "As long as we keep our distance from their nets and whatever weapons they may have, there shouldn't be any real danger." His trident began glowing in his hands. "If it comes to it, I'll sink their entire ship if I have to."

Ariel frowned and looked up worriedly to where the pirate ship was sailing somewhere way up above. "I hope it won't come to that."

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When everything was ready, the merfolk surfaced to find Scuttle sitting on the water, waiting for them. Triton himself approached the bird to get a full account of the pirate ship's crew, arsenal, and anything else that would be useful. The information Scuttle provided didn't prove to be all that helpful.

"And the deck was covered with yellowish shiny-sparklies," he was saying.

Triton raised an eyebrow at the seagull's eccentric speech. "Covered in what?"

"A bunch of stuff that was the same color as your screw on hand things."

Triton glanced at the cuffs on his wrists. "You mean gold? I don't care about what kind of treasure they have. I need to know how much manpower they have. How many pirates are there? What weapons did they have? Do you have any useful details?"

Scuttle scratched his head. "Um, wait, let me think for a moment…"

They were getting nowhere fast. "Just tell us where my son is!" Urchin demanded impatiently.

"Oh, you mean Blondie? They have him tied to the tall wooden up and down thingy."

"The mast?" Ariel asked.

"No, sweetie, the tall wooden up and down thingy."

"You mean he's out of the water?" Melody gasped, looking horrified. She knew that merpeople would die outside of the water. Alex had never spent more than a few minutes out of it when he either climbed up a rock or laid out on the shore.

"Well, yeah," Scuttle replied. "That was implied."

Triton rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Just lead us to where you last saw them." He eyed the bird suspiciously. "You do remember where the ship was, don't you?"

Scuttle puffed up his chest. "Certainly, kingy. I'm not an idiot."

**(A/N: Gotta love Scuttle. He's an idiot, but he's so lovable, and he does come through. And he successfully carried Alex's message, well, most of it. Now it's gone from a search to a rescue mission/battle. Triton is confident his trident can subdue the pirates, but he doesn't know that Captain Bloodshot can use magic. That may prove to be a real problem, as long as the captain's supply of gold lasts. And lets not forget about Hemsworth. Just who is he going to side with? Will he betray his crew, or does he still think he needs to rely on them and a life of crime? By the way, who caught the **_**Finding Nemo**_** reference? I actually just recently found out that Nemo appears for like 1/8 of a second in **_**Brother Bear**_** in a fishing net. Do a Google search; it's pretty cute. And on an ending note, I'd like to present a new theory I have. I made mention of the Sea Sorceress who appears in the TV series. I think that she may actually be Urusla and Morgana's mother. She certainly looked like Morgana, and she had tentacles, if I recall. Just some food for thought. With that, I leave you with another work of art link.)**

i72_**DOT**_photobucket_**DOT**_com/albums/i169/sexyFORpenguins/Melody_grown_up_1_by_amypaulson-1_**DOT**_jpg


	7. Chapter 7: Confrontation At Sea

**(A/N: The next chapter, and it's a rescue mission. Captain Bloodshot is finally going to get the confrontation with King Triton that he's been eager for. Safe to say that the sea king is not going to be too happy about him hunting his people, and he doesn't even know the whole truth behind the reason why he does it. And we've even got a surprising twist that'll be occurring. What's going to become of Alex? What will Hemsworth do? And will it be an all out war? Things are bound to get interesting.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 7: Confrontation At Sea**

"Hemsworth, wha' be this?"

The first mate woke with a start at Captain Bloodshot's angry cry. "What? Sorry, captain, I dozed off."

"I can see that fer meself, 'n' that there be the problem. Yer supposed ter be watchin' our guest."

Hemsworth looked up at Alex. The merboy had passed out once again, his breathing weak. Hemsworth quickly got to his feet and picked up the bucket of water. "Forgive me, captain. It won't happen again."

The captain grabbed the bucket of water from him, spilling a good portion of it. "I left yeh in charge o' him cause yeh were so concerned fer his health. Yet now I find yeh sleepin' on the job. Wha' if the boy died while yeh were nappin'? I didn' spend days waitin' fer him ta break jus' ter 'ave him die before he does."

Hemsworth knew he was at risk for a flogging, and he lowered his head in his best attempt to come across as humble and submissive. "I'm truly sorry, captain. I have gotten very little sleep myself since you gave the order for the mer to be deprived of it."

But the captain was not satisfied by this excuse. "If yeh can' handle it, then yeh best pass on the duty ter someone else."

"They'll harass him, sir."

The captain sighed irritably. "Yer a good firs' mate, Hemsworth, but as a pirate, yeh be too soft. Don' forget that yeh chose this life ter support yer family. Yeh need ta think abou' wha' be most important ta yeh."

He splashed Alex with what was left in the bucket himself. Alex jolted awake and looked around, seemingly confused as to where he was.

"Wakey, wakey, boy. I hope yeh be in a talkative mood."

Alex blinked a few times, gathering himself. "What happened?"

"Talk, fish boy! Tell me where yer home be!"

The captain's harsh tone seemed to snap Alex out of his daze, and he glared down at him. "I'm not telling you anything. If you want to find Atlantica, you better start swimming."

Rage twisted the captain's features. "Yer playin' on me last nerve, boy. Yer gonna force me to drown meself in rum, 'n' when I do, I tend ter do things without thinkin' o' the consequences. Yeh don' want ter face me while I be like that; I may do somethin' I'll regret."

He stared the merboy down, challengingly. Alex stubbornly looked away, and the captain's temper snapped. "Very well, boy. I'd hoped not ta 'ave ta lay a hand on yeh since I didn' want yeh accidentally dyin' under torture, but it seems like yeh won' break any other way."

He pulled out a large knife and grabbed Alex by his hair. Pressing the flat side of the blade to his cheek threateningly, he made one final attempt to get the merboy to talk. "This be yer last chance, lad. Will yeh speak, or continue ta hold yer tongue?"

"Captain-" Hemsworth began.

"Silence!" the captain roared at him, then turned back to Alex. "I'm through playin' nice. Will yeh speak?"

A look of acceptance passed across Alex's face, and he closed his eyes.

A frustrated growl escaped the captain. "Very well then. Say goodbye ta yer pretty face."

"Captain!" The cry came from another crewmember. "Captain, sir, come quick!"

The captain rounded on the crewmember, stabbing his knife into the railing in annoyance. "I be in the middle o' somethin'."

"But, captain, we've had a sighting. Several merfolk have appeared. They look like they're going to attack."

The captain stared at him, the crewmembers words taking a few seconds to register. "Do yeh speak the truth?"

"Aye, captain. They've surrounded the ship."

The captain pulled his knife free and turned to Hemsworth. Grabbing his hand, he pressed the knife into it. "Watch the boy, 'n' yeh best stay awake this time."

As the captain limped off, a smile crept up Alex's face. It looked like Scuttle had come through.

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Even though she was only there as a spectator, Melody felt very much like the legendary Chinese warrior woman that pretended to be a man to take her father's place in the war against the Huns. The pirate ship was in sight, meaning that Alex was nearby. He was somewhere on that ship, and she was going to find them.

Upon breaking the surface, she spotted him almost immediately. "Look!" she cried, pointing at the mast. "There's Alex!"

Ariel grabbed her arm, holding her back. "Melody, stay back, it's dangerous. Let your grandfather and the soldiers handle this."

Melody shook out of her mother's grip. "I just want him to know I'm here." She began waving her arms. "Alex!"

The smile left Alex's face as he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. He felt his stomach drop as he spotted Melody and her mother in the water among the mermen. The fact that she was swimming instead of on a boat didn't register to him; only that she was near the deranged captain.

"Melody, what are you doing here?" he cried. "Scuttle, you idiot! I told you to keep them away!"

Next to the two mermaids, Alex saw his parents and King Triton surface. Now his parents were here too? He didn't want any of his loved ones anywhere near this ship. It a bit of a consolation to know that the sea king himself was here to protect them, but he would much rather have had them all far away from here.

Triton raised his trident and bellowed, "I, King Triton, demand an audience with the captain of this vessel!"

The captain made his way over to the railing, gathering up magic from the gold he stepped over along the way. "I be the capt'n o' the Sea Arrow. T'is quite an honor ta 'ave the sea king himself visit me ship. But this actually works well in me favor; I've be searchin' fer yeh fer a long time, yer majesty."

"So I've heard," Triton growled. "You have been hunting my people and fishing in waters where it is forbidden. I demand that you release your captive and surrender, or else you shall face the wrath of the seven seas."

The captain threw back his head and laughed. "That be quite a demand, yer highness, 'n' I'm sure it works most o' the time, but we pirates live outside the law, so I'm afraid yer words be fallin' on deaf ears. As fer the boy," he glanced at Alex, then back at the sea king, "yeh can 'ave him back in exchange fer yer trident. 'N' I suggest yeh act fast; the poor lad has been depraved of water 'n' sleep fer extended periods o' time fer several days now. He may not last much longer."

"Monster!" Melody shouted up at him as Gabriella gasped in horror and Urchin needed to be restrained by two other mermen.

Triton puffed out his chest, looking every much like the mighty king he was. "That will not happen. We did not come here to negotiate. You will release the boy and surrender, or I will send your ship to the bottom of the sea."

The captain grinned arrogantly, and his hand began glowing gold in preparation. "I think yeh will find that ta be more difficult than yeh think. I know more abou' yeh than yeh do abou' me. I also see yeh 'ave yer daughter 'n' granddaughter with yeh as well, 'n' them be mermaids too. It may not be wise ta start a fight with yer loved ones nearby."

As his red eyes settled on Ariel, they narrowed curiously. He looked back at Triton, studying him carefully. "Tell me somethin' yer highness, what color was yer hair before age turned it white? Be it an auburn?"

Triton blinked in surprise. It was true that his hair had lost color faster than usual due to the stress of ruling the entire ocean, but how could this human know his original hair color?

"How do you know that?" he demanded. "And what does it matter?"

The captain ignored the question. "'N' yer queen, I hear she died, but do yer daughter resemble her?"

Surprise turned to suspicion in the sea king. "What do you know of my family? How do you know my queen?"

Instead of answering, the captain began laughing. He laughed so hard that he had to hold on to a crewmember to support himself as he pounded his other fist against the railing.

Anger bubbled up inside the sea king. "I fail to see what is so funny."

The captain wiped away tears of laughter. "Beggin' yer pardon, yer kingliness. I jus' find it very ironic. I had been searching unsuccessfully fer yeh fer several years, when in all actuality, this not be the firs' time we've met."

"What are you saying?" Triton growled impatiently. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"Perhaps not, but I've seen yeh. T'was almost thirty years ago, back before I sailed under me own colors." He grinned wickedly, his eyes shining with excitement. "Yeh can' tell me yeh don' remember wha' happened. Yeh 'n' a bunch o' yer kind were loungin' in the lagoon at the time me current crew raided yeh. Ended up crashin' me ship into the rocks tryin' ta get what yeh had on yeh, we did."

"Crashing into the…" Triton trailed off as things began clicking into place. The memories he tried so hard to forget came forth as he relived the worst day of his life. The lagoon, the pirate ship, the raid, the crash… Athena.

His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "It was you. That was your ship."

The captain grinned. "Ah, so yeh do remember. Ironic, ain't it? I spent so much time searchin' fer yeh, 'n' it turns out that I'd already found yeh long ago, but didn' even know it."

The water around the sea king began to bubble and steam as his trident began glowing. "You're the one responsible for my wife's death!"

Ariel recognized the reaction in her father; it was just like, no, even worse, than the time he destroyed her treasure trove full of human artifacts. "Daddy, no!"

But it was too late. The sea king's anger had blinded him, and he fired a blast from his trident powerful enough to blow the entire ship to bits.

"Alex!" Melody screamed, fearing for his life.

A sinister grin crept up the captain's face and he raised his glowing hand. The blast from the trident stopped, as if it had run into an invisible wall, then died out. Triton looked surprised, but then his eyes narrowed and he fired another blast. The captain stopped this one as well, but then sent it back in various smaller beams. The merpeople cried out and ducked beneath the water to avoid the blasts.

Triton resurfaced and attempted something else. Waving his trident, he caused a massive wave to rise. It rose several stories higher than the ship, fully capable of sinking it as it curved to collapse on top of it.

The captain gathered up more magic and made a swiping gesture. The wave split down the middle, the two halves coming down on either side of the ship. Triton cried out in rage and twirled the tip of the trident around in the water's surface. The water around the ship began swirling to form into a whirlpool.

As the ship started to spin around, the captain raised his hand towards the sky. The entire ship began glowing with a gold light and rose out of the water. The whirlpool began to disperse as Triton stared at the floating ship that slowly lowered itself back into the water once it calmed.

"What magic is this?" he demanded.

The captain laughed. "Me own brand o' magic that I picked up on me journeys. I'll be able ta counteract any magic yeh unleash with yer trident. But while yer magic be limited ta the sea, me own power go beyond that."

By now, the sea king had calmed enough to think rationally once more. "Then why do you want it?"

The captain smirked. "All magic, no matter wha' kind or how strong, be limited. I need yer trident fer somethin' me own magic cannot do."

The sea king's grip on his trident tightened. "You will not have it."

"Then I be forced ta take it from yeh!" The captain turned to his men. "Man the cannons, open fire on them wretched mer, 'n' bring me that trident!"

The crew had already been prepared. Musket shots and cannon fire blasted as they unleashed an all out assault on the merpeople.

"Down!" Trident shouted as bullets and cannon fire splashed around them.

They all submerged as the deadly balls of metal rained down around them. Ariel grabbed Melody's wrist and pulled her further back as Urchin moved protectively in front of Gabriella. One of the soldiers cried out as a stray bullet struck his shoulder and the water ran red.

Triton gasped as he saw one of his own kind injured in the line of duty. His eyes flashed furiously up towards the ship. He could very well blast it apart from down below, but not without risking Alex's safety. And the captain had his own brand of magic to counteract his trident. It looked like they would have to resort to good old fashion warfare.

"Attack!" he shouted to his men. "Make these fiends feel the end of your spears! Avenge your queen!"

The mermen gave a battle cry, holding their spears over their heads. They swam up and leapt out of the water, throwing their spears as they did so. The captain's eyes widened and he ducked as a spear soared over his head. Other crewmembers ducked down as well, others jumping to the sides as numerous spears flew towards them. The strength the merfolk possessed was something to behold for their throw to be able to reach them up here. The captain had captured many merfolk in his life, but never had he been under attack by them like this.

"Strong fish," he growled. He turned back to his crew. "Do not lose heart. They have but a few measly spears. They be no match fer the likes o' us."

The crew returned to their posts, turning their guns and cannons down towards the water, firing whenever they saw a mer beneath the surface, or when one leapt out of the water.

Down below, triton cursed himself for a fool. They were ill prepared for an all out battle, and even less prepared to have magic used against them. He had thought that he would be dealing with ordinary humans. Murderous outlaws, yes, but still ordinary humans. All it should have taken was a single blast from his trident, or a tidal wave, and their enemies would have been vanquished. If it even came to that in the first place. But he hadn't counted on the captain being able to use magic as well.

"Keep up the attack!" he commanded. "Use your weapons sparingly, and be careful of their bullets and cannon fire!"

Melody grabbed her grandfather's arm. "What if they hit Alex?"

He patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Not to worry. Our people are very skilled warriors. They will not hit him."

Ariel swam over to them. "Daddy, we're not prepared to have magic used against us."

Triton's eyes narrowed. "I know," he seethed, once again angry with himself for being too arrogant and overconfident. "We will focus on saving Alex for now, then we'll come back with more warriors when we're better prepared to bring these men to justice."

Ariel suddenly gasped. "Eric, he doesn't know! He can't defend himself against magic. Daddy, the fleet is in danger."

"They're not here yet," her father replied, more concerned the with the present danger. "We'll send someone to warn him if and when he makes an appearance."

One of his guards swam over to them. "My king, it appears that your seagull friend has come to our aid."

Triton raised an eyebrow, looking doubtful. "Scuttle?"

The merman nodded. "Indeed. He has come with a flock of seagulls. They're distracting the humans and retrieving our spears for us."

Ariel and Melody shared a look. "Even now he continues to surprise me," said the older woman.

Up above, the pirates were batting away the flock of seagulls, some even turning their guns on the birds rather than on the merfolk.

"Never mind the blasted birds!" the captain snarled, even as he swatted at them. "Jus' get me that trident! Kill the sea king if yeh 'ave ta, jus' get it!"

Another crewmember came running over to him as a seagull pulled at his hair. "Captain, we have a problem.'

The captain turned towards him angrily. "So I've noticed!"

"No, not the birds, look!"

He pointed in the distance. The captain looked to see a group of ships upon the horizon. With a frustrated growl, he pulled out his telescope to take a look. He swore as he recognized the flagship.

"It be the royal fleet," he grumbled. "Them cursed merfolk must've tipped off King Eric." He closed his telescope and stuck it back into his jacket. "I'll be takin' care o' this."

He walked over to a larger area of gold. The precious metal began glowing as he pulled magic from it. With hands glowing like the sun as he pulled magic from it, he raised them to the sky. Clouds of ice flew out of his open palms and gathered in the sky above. The captain motioned towards the fleet, and the ice cloud blew in their direction, as if by a mighty wind.

Like the dreaded spell of a forest of thorns cast by an evil dark fairy upon a certain castle, the clouds of ice gathered around the fleet. Lightning began raining down from them, not as a means of destruction, but as a way to deliver the spell. The lightning struck the water, freezing it to ice. Whole icebergs formed and rose up higher than the ships, cutting them off.

"That'll take care o' them fer now," said the captain.

"Why not just sink them?" a nearby crewmember asked.

"King Eric be on one o' those ships. Best not ter kill the king when things not yet be in our favor."

A random seagull chose that moment to swoop down and snatch the captain's hat. He looked surprised for a moment, then whipped out his pistol and fired at the bird. It dropped to the deck, and the captain went to retrieve his hat.

"This be gettin' on me nerves. I want those mer dead in the water, 'n' that trident in me hands right now."

He gathered up more magic and went to the side of the ship. He waved his hand and an enormous unseen force tore through the water, sending up large waves and causing the mermen to go flying. He did this repeatedly, forming more walls of water and tossing around more mermen.

Up by the mast, Hemsworth surveyed the scene around him. Seagulls attacking the pirates, the pirates firing guns and cannons at the mermen, the mermen throwing spears at the pirates, the captain using his magic to create walls of water to send the mermen flying.

"Look around you!" Alex shouted at him. "Is this what you want? All this chaos, just to fulfill your captain's sick delusions that you don't even agree with."

Hemsworth looked away. His grip on the knife the captain had given him tightened as he unsuccessfully tried to block out the sounds of the battle going on around him.

"The captain planned on catching the sea king off guard. Now that he knows what the captain is planning, he'll take precautions to make sure no other merperson is captured." He turned to Alex. "But as long as you're here, the captain will not give up. He'll keep trying to use you to get the sea king's trident."

Raising the knife, he approached the merboy. Alex closed his eyes, ready to feel the blade cut into him. Instead, he dropped down from the mast as his bindings were cut. He looked up questioningly, and the first mate handed him the knife.

"I can't help you anymore than this without arising suspicion. You'll have to get off the ship on your own. Go for the plank, the others are avoiding it since there's no wall to protect them from the spears there. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince the captain to give up this foolish attempt to get the sea king's trident."

Alex attempted to fight his disorientation and remain focused. "Thank you. I know what you're risking."

Hemsworth appeared hesitant. "About that… There's something I need for you to do for me before you go."

He walked a few feet away and picked up a gold brick. Going back over to Alex, he got down to his level and handed it to him before turning around. "I need you to knock me out."

Alex blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I'm supposed to be guarding you. If you just got away without any sign of a struggle, they'll think I just let you go. If I'm knocked out, it'll give me an alibi." He lowered his head. "Just do it; I want you to. Consider it payback for what I've done."

Alex hesitated. He looked from the gold brick in his hand to Hemsworth's bowed head. The man was right, the others would be suspicious unless he did this. He just didn't want to have to hurt anyone.

Closing his eyes, he whacked Hemsworth over the head with the brick. The first mate went down, a bloody lump on his head. Alex winced at the sight of it and tossed the brick aside. He felt for the man's pulse, feeling that it was weak, but steady. Hemsworth himself was out cold. Alex muttered a quick word of apology and thanks before he began crawling across the wood floor.

"Hey, Blondie, up here!"

Alex looked up to see Scuttle. The seagull came down and landed on the railing above him. "Scuttle?"

"How'd I do, kid? Brought the whole cavalry, just like I said I would."

"Yes," Alex agreed, "you did well, but you were supposed to have Melody and her mother stay behind."

The bird frowned and crossed his wings. "Aww, nuts. I knew I was forgetting something."

"Never mind. Look, I need to get to the plank so I can get overboard. Can you tell your friends to distract the pirates and try to keep them away from that area?"

Scuttle used his feathers to give Alex a thumbs-up. "No problem. Just leave everything to me."

He flew off, squawking. The other seagulls responded to his calls and flocked to keep the pirates away. Gripping the knife Hemsworth had given him, Alex crawled down the stairs, across the deck, and over to the plank. The pirates were too busy avoiding the mermen's spears and swatting away the seagulls to notice him. But Alex's strength was failing him fast. He could barely hold himself up, let alone drag himself along.

Captain Bloodshot snarled furiously as the seagulls flapped around him, squawking, scratching, and pecking. He had been forced to cease his magic attack on the mermen in order to fend them off. He could have used magic against them, but they were all over him, and there were so many that he couldn't find any gold that he hadn't already sucked magic from.

"Blasted birds!" he seethed. "I'll 'ave all yer wings clipped so yeh'll never fly again!"

He decided to use one of his last resources, one of the rings on his fingers he only used in case of an emergency. The ring turned black as he drew his magic from it and cast a spell, summoning up a powerful gust of wind. The seagulls were blown away, clearing his line of vision. As he looked around deck for more gold, his red eyes widened as he spotted Alex near the plank. His gaze shifted up to the mast where he saw Hemsworth lying unconscious on the floor.

"Useless idiot," he growled, pulling out his sword and making his way over to the merboy. "Going somewhere, fish-boy?"

Alex turned to see him coming. He threw the knife he held, but the captain expertly knocked it away with his sword. A sinister grin crept up his face as he held out his hand, gathering magic from the gold he passed.

"Sorry ta cut yer escape attempt short, but I not be done with yeh quite yet."

Alex backed away as the captain pointed his sword at him threateningly. "Just look at what's happening. This is utter madness. You can still put a stop to all this."

"Aye," the captain agreed, moving closer to him, "I can, 'n' I intend ta, once I possess the trident. But until I obtain it, yeh'll not be goin' anywhere."

"Bloodshot!"

The cry came from overboard. The captain looked down to see Triton pointing his trident at him. A powerful beam erupted from it, and the captain was forced to use his magic to defend himself. Alex silently thanked the sea king and used the opportunity to crawl the rest of the way to the plank and go overboard.

He heard the captain's bellow of rage as he splashed into the water. It was an instant relief, infinitely more satisfying than simply being watered down. He was in his natural environment, his true element, and he never wanted to leave it again.

It had been pure willpower and determination that had kept him going while he was a captive, and pure adrenaline had given him the strength to crawl off the ship. Now that he was in the water once more, his body gave in to exhaustion, and he passed out.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"He's in!" Melody cried, and quickly swam towards the merboy, Urchin and Gabriella right behind her.

"Melody, wait!" Ariel called, but she was ignored.

Having attacked the captain, Triton had been right where Alex had fallen in, and he quickly gathered him in his arms. As he held the boy, Captain Bloodshot unleashed more magic, casting the same spell he had used to capture Alex to begin with.

As the whirlpool formed around Triton and began to form into a waterspout to bring both him and Alex up to the ship, the sea king finally understood what the fish that were witness to Alex's disappearance had meant. "The vanishing whirlpool."

Once Alex had been sucked into the whirlpool and it had risen from the water, the fish wouldn't have been able to tell what had been happening above sea level since the water was so choppy. It would indeed look as if once the whirlpool dispersed that everything in it, including Alex, had simply disappeared. So it really had been magic at work.

But it would not happen again. The captain's magic may have been able to counteract his trident's power, but it worked both ways. He took control of the whirlpool as it formed into a waterspout and commanded it to become undone.

Both he and Alex splashed back down into the water, and he turned to his men. "Fall back for now! We shall return later and make these men pay for what they've done to our kind!"

The mermen obeyed their king and swam down deeper to avoid any damage the pirates still might present while they were underwater. Keeping hold of Alex, Triton swam down with the rest of them, and the ship soon vanished from sight as they continued to descend into the ocean depths.

Melody reached her grandfather and looked down at Alex in his arms. "Is he ok?"

She gasped when she saw his condition. He was badly sunburned all over, and his skin was peeling from it. There were rope burns and bruises from where he had been tied to the mast. His lips were cracked from getting so dried out, and he had dark circles and bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be injured otherwise.

"Oh, Alex," she whispered. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "What did they do to you?"

Gabriella looked close to tears, and Urchin looked like he was ready to swim back up to the surface and take out all the pirates single-handedly.

"Do not fear," the sea king reassured them as he gently rested the end of his trident against Alex. "He will be just fine."

The trident began glowing as magic flowed out of it and into Alex. Right before their eyes, he began to heal. Melody looked on in amazement as the trident completely restored him. Even the bags and dark circles under his eyes and the cracks across his lips vanished. He indeed looked as good as new.

Alex gasped loudly as his eyes snapped open. He began to struggle in the sea king's arms as he forgot where he was.

"It's ok, my boy," Triton told him, "you're safe now."

Melody swam forward and placed her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to face her. "Alex, it's ok. Look, it's me. The pirates are gone, you're safe."

It took a few moments for Alex to settle down, but as he stared at her beautiful face, he slowly began to relax. Almost afraid this was a dream, he reached out and placed a hand on her cheek, stroking it gently and lovingly. She leaned into his touched and gave him a reassuring smile, looking close to tears.

An exhausted smile crept up Alex's face. "Hey, Mel-Mel," he said, and then passed out in Triton's arms.

"Alex, no!" Melody gasped fearfully.

"He's all right," Triton told her. "He's merely exhausted. The trident healed his body, but he must recover his strength on his own."

Urchin and Gabriella went to check on their son. Unable to speak, the latter merely stroked his cheek while Urchin spoke for the both of them. "My brave, brave boy. Thank heavens your safe."

Triton smiled at them. "Come, lets return to Atlantica. He should still see a healer."

Keeping hold of the boy, he began heading back towards the underwater city. Melody swam right beside. She grasped Alex's hand and pressed a kiss to it, keeping hold of him as she followed her grandfather.

Urchin and Gabriella watched as the princess remained close to their son. They were surprised by the visible display of affection and amount of concern she had for him. They had known that the two were close, but they hadn't been aware of this.

Sharing a curious look, they glanced at Ariel questioningly. She looked to the two of them, understanding their unasked question. She and nodded to them in confirmation, and looked back at her daughter swimming away. It was time for her to face the truth. Her daughter was swimming away from her, and soon she would be doing it again, only next time it would be for good.

**(A/N: How was that for a twist? It was Captain Bloodshot's ship that had killed Athena. Did anyone expect that? I hadn't originally planned on doing that, but only realized I could make the connection just recently. It brings everything full circle too. Oh, and before you ask, no Captain Bloodshot did not eat Athena; her death happened before he started doing that when he was just an ordinary pirate. On another note, it seems that Melody and Alex's 'secret' relationship is out of the bag. Anyone interested in seeing an overprotective Ariel, Eric, and Triton? I gotta have a least a little bit of overprotectiveness. But onto more important matters, what's going to happen with the pirates now that Alex is gone. Captain Bloodshot is certainly not going to be happy about that. And what about Hemsworth? He did the right thing, but will he get away with it? He may have helped Alex, but his alligence is still to the pirates. And there's one other important factor that some of you may have looked over that will be brought up next chapter, so look forward to that. Feel free to review, and enjoy this update's picture.)**

images4_**DOT**_fanpop_**DOT**_com/image/photos/24500000/Melody-melody-24512984-722-1106_**DOT**_jpg


	8. Chapter 8: A Stone Cold Heart

**(A/N: Congrats to **_**Draskar**_** for finding the important factor I mentioned. I didn't know if anyone would notice it, or if they would remember it if they did. For those of you that didn't spot it, don't worry about it, it was meant to be something that could easily be overlooked. You'll see what it is in this chapter though. Oh, and one more thing, if you have any questions, I won't be able to respond to them unless you're logged in to your account. If you don't have one, it's free to make one, and it doesn't require any personal information. As for the question, where I got Alex's name from, I mentioned this in my Author's Note in the first chapter. He was one of several Disney characters that was given a name but never had it said in the movie. I found it on both the Disney website and The Little Mermaid website. It didn't say what it was short for. Anyway, you'll understand the reason for this chapter title soon enough, as well as discover the important factor I mentioned.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 8: A Stone Cold Heart**

For the past several days, waking up had been a highly unpleasant experience. Being out of the water and tied to a ship's mast was definitely not the way to wake up in the morning. But that was not the case this time. It was strange how such a simple thing like waking up in a bed was taken for granted. And never had Alex been so appreciated of the water that surrounded him.

His eyes cracked open, and he recognized that he was in his room in Atlantica. So it hadn't been a dream, he really had gotten away from that psychotic pirate captain. To say that it was good to be back home was the understatement of the century. He felt immensely better, though he was still a little sore from being left out to dry and being tied to the mast for days on end.

A slight pressure on his chest caused him to look own, and he saw Melody asleep against him, her hand resting over his heart. It hadn't registered to him before through his disorientation and all the chaos going on, but now he realized she was a mermaid. He hadn't seen her as a mermaid for four years. She had always been stunningly beautiful as a human, but she was even more so now as a mermaid.

He reached out and ran his hands through her hair. She smiled in her sleep, whispering his name as she snuggled into him. Alex brought a lock of her hair to his lips and kissed it.

"My princess, I missed you so much," he whispered, thanking all the Olympian gods and Hercules that she was safe. "I'm so glad you're all right."

The clearing of a throat got his attention. He turned and froze as he saw none other than Ariel in his doorway with her arms crossed, and he quickly released her daughter's lock of hair. "Y-Your majesty! How… how long have you been there?"

Ariel swam over to his beside and stroked her sleeping daughter's head. "Long enough to see you display your affection for my little girl."

Unease gripped Alex. He had always tried to be formal around Melody's parents and to keep his feelings in check. Now her mother had witnessed an intimate moment between them. And the fact that her daughter was asleep during it certainly didn't work well in his favor.

"Your majesty… I… I can explain…"

"She hasn't left your side once," Ariel told him. "She's been at your bedside ever since you were brought back, even when your parents were staying with you."

Alex wasn't sure what to say to that. "Oh," he muttered, looking down at Melody's sleeping face, feeling uneasy at being caught. "Um, your majesty, may I ask how long I was out?"

Ariel sat down on his bed beside her daughter. "It's been two days. Your friends Tide and Sea-Sea came to see you too, but they decided to let you sleep."

"Two days?" Alex gasped.

"You were in bad shape. You might not have even made it had my father not used the trident to heal you."

Alex's eyes widened as he remembered. "The trident! That's what the pirates are after. That's why they're-"

Ariel held up a hand to stop him. "We're aware of the situation. Captain Bloodshot and his men are hunting merfolk so they can obtain my father's trident, and they've even got magic to counteract it; at least the captain does."

Alex nodded. "Yes, but there's more to it than that."

He started to get up, being careful not to rouse Melody. Ariel placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him down. "Don't worry about it for now. My father is discussing the situation with his advisors. You'll be asked to provide information later. Until then, you just work on recovering your strength. You've been through quite an ordeal after all." She glanced at Melody. "And I don't want you to worry my daughter needlessly. She's been distraught for several days now. Don't go upsetting her again."

Alex looked at Melody again, resisting the urge to stroke her cheek. "I won't. Thank you, your majesty. And thank you for coming after me." That's when he remembered what he had seen Captain Bloodshot do to the royal fleet with his magic ice storm. "What of your husband? Is he well?"

"Eric is just fine," she told him. "It took some time for the fleet to escape the ice though. Unfortunately, the Sea Arrow was already out of sight by then."

Alex sighed. "That's good. Er, not that the pirates got away; that your husband is all right. Um, how is Prince Dorian? Is he safe?"

Ariel couldn't help but smile. "He's fine as well. He's been staying with Charlotte. I'm sure he's upset over being left behind though."

Alex chuckled. "That certainly sounds like him." He gasped as he realized how friendly he was speaking of the young prince. "I mean, the prince is very brave for wanting to face pirates."

Ariel gave him a reassuring smile. "There is no need to be so formal. You're practically family." She lowered her voice. "I know."

He gave her an uncertain look. "Um, know what, your majesty?"

"I know," she repeated, and looked down at her daughter's hand resting over Alex's heart.

Alex felt his insides go numb. "Y-Your majesty… I… I… uh…"

She held up her hand again. "It's all right. If Melody had to choose someone of the sea, I'm glad it's you."

Alex stared at her, trying to find the right words to say. "Your majesty…"

At that moment, Melody began to stir. The two looked down at her before sharing a look.

"We'll discuss it more later," Ariel told him. Leaning in close, she whispered with a warning in her voice, "Keep it in your mammary slit until then."

Alex blushed furiously as Melody's eyes opened and she yawned. Stretching her limbs, she glanced up at Alex and saw that he was awake, not noticing the redness in his cheeks.

"Alex!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. "Alex, Alex, Alex!"

Glancing uneasily at Ariel, he returned the hug, careful of where he placed his hands while under her gaze. "Hey, Mel-Mel, it's good to see you."

Keeping hold of him, she began pressing kisses all over his face. "I was so worried about you. I kept thinking something truly awful happened. You can't ever leave me, Alex, not ever!"

While he would have normally enjoyed this display of affection, having it rained upon him under her mother's nose was incredibly awkward. "Um, Melody, we have an audience."

She glanced over her shoulder to see her mother in the room, and immediately sprung up and away from Alex. "Mom!"

Ariel gave her a knowing look while at the same time trying to express her disapproval. "Public affection is not a bad thing, but please keep it limited until the wedding."

With that, she swam out of the room. Alex looked at melody questioningly, and she shifted guiltily. "I may have accidentally let it slip that we intend to marry."

Alex considered this for a few moments. "And she's ok with it?"

Melody nodded. "She said she is. I didn't tell Dad or Grandfather yet, but I think that… Wait, forget about that right now. Are you all right? I've been so worried about you."

He reached for her and stroked her cheek. "I'm fine now. A little sore, but I'll recover."

Tears pricked Melody's eyes, and she hugged him again. "What did those monsters do to you?"

He decided to embellish the truth so he wouldn't upset her so much. "Nothing much. They just kept me depraved of sleep and water mostly."

"That's nothing much? That's horrible! How could they? Grandfather will make them pay for what they've done."

He rubbed her back soothingly. "Shh, it's ok. I don't want to talk about that right now. Lets just enjoy this moment. It's not everyday that I get to hold you like this."

She laid down on top of him again, listening to his heartbeat. "I intend to make sure we have many more like this."

That made him smile. "Your tail is beautiful by the way, just like the rest of you."

She chuckled. "That almost makes it sound like you prefer me as a mermaid."

"Well," he admitted, "can you blame me if I would rather have us be one and the same? But I still love you either way."

Reaching up, she placed a finger to his lips. "Shh, you can flatter me later. Work on regaining your strength for now."

Holding her closely, Alex closed his eyes. A few moments later, he was asleep.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

It was two days later that King Triton summoned Alex to his throne room. Ariel and Sebastian were present as well to receive an account of events from when he was with the pirates. Melody still refused to leave his side and ended up attending as well.

"I know you have been through a horrible experience," Triton told him, "but I'm afraid I must ask you to relive what you have gone through. Anything you an tell us about this enemy will be of use."

Alex bowed his head. "I understand, your majesty, and I'm happy to help in any way I can." He took a deep breath and began explaining. "It seems that these men were fishing solemnly for the purpose of attracting our attention. It looked like they had done this many times before. Once they got our attention, they would capture us. I was unfortunate enough to be the one to fall for their trap this time."

An angry scowl crossed the sea king's face. "And from what I understand, this wasn't the first time they've done this. Just how long have they been hunting our kind?"

Alex closed his eyes. "Years, your majesty. It seems that their captain suffers from massive delusions and holds crazy beliefs."

Sebastian humphed. "Dat ees no surprise. Humans are very gullible. Dey always seem to believe dee craziest of dings." When Ariel cleared her throat, he realized what he said. "Oh, um, not all humans, of course! Certainly not any of your friends or family!"

"Thank you, Sebastian," Triton said loudly, clearly impatient. He motioned for Alex to continue. "Go on with what you were saying."

"Yes, your majesty." He wondered just how he should break this next part to them. "Um, about the captain's beliefs… they seem to center around this wild theory he has. You see, the whole reason he's been hunting merfolk is because he…" his hand went to his mouth as he fought down the urge to vomit, "he feeds off of us."

The statement was met by silence. The others merely stared at Alex with blank looks on their faces. It seemed that his claim was so outrageous that his words didn't even register to them. Alex couldn't blame them, he didn't fully believe what he was told until he had gotten a better understanding of what the captain was like.

Finally, Triton leaned forward. "What?"

Alex bit his lip nervously. "The captain, he eats merfolk. Our tails to be more precise."

He finally seemed to get through to them.

"What?" Melody cried. "What? Why?"

"You can't be serious!" Ariel exclaimed, completely outraged.

"You must be meestaken!" Sebastian insisted. "Why would any human do dat? It can't possible be true."

"Silence!" Triton bellowed, slamming his fist on the armrest of his throne. He gave Alex a serious look. "You are certain of this?"

The merboy nodded. "I'm afraid so, your majesty. As unbelievable as it is, it does seem to be the case."

Utterly disgusted, Triton got up from his throne, unable to remain sitting any longer. "This cannot be ignored. Humans have committed horrible crimes against the sea for the longest time; they've even attacked and killed our kind for years, but this is beyond comprehension. I cannot even begin to fathom why a human would do such a thing."

Alex nodded in agreement. "Nor could I, your majesty. Not at first, but I eventually discovered the reason behind it. It's all because of Captain Bloodshot's obsession and psychotic beliefs."

"What beliefs?" Sebastian cried. "What could dat human possibly believe dat would make him do such an atrocious ding?"

Alex sighed. "It seems that, for some reason, he thinks that by eating our tails, it will allow him to live forever."

The others gave him blank stares.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of," the sea king declared. "What on earth would make him think such a thing?"

Alex shook his head. "I have no idea, your majesty, but it's what he believes. Even his crew thinks he's crazy, but they humor him to get a payoff."

Triton barely seemed to hear him as he continued to rage. "It's outrageous! It's basically cannibalism!"

That last statement got Ariel's attention, and she pondered on this. After becoming human, her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she had done a lot of research on humanity and its history. Not everything she had read had been good; some of what she had read had been downright horrifying. And the things that truly horrified a person tended to stick in their mind.

"Perhaps that's it," she said. "I once read that in some primitive tribes, the people practice cannibalism because they believe that doing so would allow them to obtain another's strengths."

Triton turned to her. "What does that have to do with living forever?" He looked at Alex. "That was why you said Bloodshot was doing this."

Melody tapped her chin, trying to come up with some kind of explanation. What her mother had said about what she had read reminded her of something _she_ had read. Back before she had discovered the truth about her heritage, she had searched for whatever information she could about merpeople. At the time, the most popular book was a short story entitled _The Little Mermaid_.

"I think I might know," she said. She looked at her mother. "Mom, remember that human you helped that turned out to be a famous author?"

Ariel nodded. "Yes, Hans Christian Andersen."

Triton gave her a confused look. "Who?"

"The human that was trapped in that prototype submarine. You were actually the one that saved him."

Triton had no idea what a submarine was, but he distinctively remembered Ariel convincing him to help a human that was stuck inside a large metal fish-like contraption that had broken down. "Oh, him. What of it?"

"He later wrote a book about a mermaid from his experience," Melody told him.

Ariel nodded. "Yes, I've read it too. It was a beautiful, but sad story. Ironically, it was a lot like my experience when I first became human, only his story ended in tragedy." She looked at her daughter. "But I don't understand the connection."

"Just listen. I remember at one part in the story, it was said that merpeople lack souls, but instead have a lifespan of 300 years. If Captain Bloodshot believes he'll gain a person's strength through cannibalism, maybe he thinks he'll gain extra years to live by eating our tails."

Triton raised an eyebrow. "Lack a soul but live for 300 years? That is not only preposterous, but rather insulting. All living things have a soul, and our lifespans are about the same as a humans."

"It's just a story, Daddy," Ariel told him. "But she does have a point. Maybe Bloodshot does believe it and thinks he can live longer because of it."

"Eet really doesn't matter," said Sebastian. "Dee reason behind dee captain's crazy beliefs are eerrelevant. He stills needs to be stopped."

Triton nodded in agreement. "Indeed." He looked back at Alex. "But why did he not…?" He trailed off, unable to bring himself to say the nauseating words. "You were his captive for over a week, so why did he not…?"

Alex shivered at the memories, and Melody leaned against him comfortingly. He gave her an appreciative smile before answering the sea king. "It was an interrogation. He wanted to know the location of Atlantica, so he could get your trident. He planned on kidnapping either your daughter or granddaughter in order to exchange them for it."

Triton gave him an appreciative look. "And thanks to you, his plan was stopped before he accomplished this. You're to be commended for your strength and bravery."

A blush stained Alex's cheeks. "T-Thank you, your majesty."

The sea king turned to his daughter. "I think it would be best if you and Melody remain here where he can't get to you until the situation is resolved."

Ariel nodded reluctantly. "That may be for the best. I'll have to tell Eric we'll be staying here for a while."

Alex glanced at Melody, glad that she would be staying for the time being, regardless of the circumstances. She caught his eyes and gave him a smile, seemingly thinking the same thing he was. She reached for his hand and he took it, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

"Very good," Triton replied. Then he gave Alex a curious look. "You didn't give out any important information, did you?"

Did he? Alex wasn't sure. Closing his eyes, he tried to think back to what had happened during his sleep-deprived state. He didn't remember if he actually did or not, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to his king. "To be perfectly honest, your majesty, I'm not entirely sure if I did or not. He kept me sleep deprived to try and get me to talk. There were times where I was delirious and incoherent from the lack of sleep and being out of the water for so long. I don't know what I might have said during those times."

He felt Melody squeeze his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pained look on her face for what he had gone through. He returned the squeeze, expressing his gratitude to her as he waited to hear what the sea king would say.

Triton just grumbled. "That accursed human. Mark my words, he will pay for his crimes."

Alex relaxed. The sea king seemed more concerned over what Alex had gone through rather than what he may or may not have said. He felt immense gratitude to the sea king for it.

Ariel hugged herself. "Just the thought of the trident ending up in that madman's hands makes me feel uneasy. He won't even need to capture merpeople anymore if he gets a hold of it; he could use its power to simply make us come straight to him."

Alex's head snapped in her direction. It was strange how a single word or phrase could bring up a specific memory. Sometimes they were even little things that were easily overlooked or didn't seem important at the time. Ariel's words had reflected what he too had believed were Captain Bloodshot's earlier motivation for possessing the trident. However, now that his original opinion was being repeated back at him, a memory from his time on the Sea Arrow had surfaced, and he couldn't help but remember something Hemsworth had said to him.

"Actually, your majesty, I think there may be another reason why he wants it besides controlling us. Hemsworth mentioned something that I don't think he intended to let slip."

Sebastian gave him a confused look. "Who ees dis Hemsworth?"

"Captain Bloodshot's first mate, the one that helped me escape. He came to me one night in a drunken state and began ranting."

Triton began swim-pacing. "It doesn't matter what he's planning. He needs to be stopped no matter what. The ambitions of a man obsessed can never be set aside, especially if their mentality is in question."

"Yes," Alex agreed, "you're right, of course, your majesty. I didn't even know what he was talking about. He mentioned something called Aquin, or Arqua, or something."

Triton froze. Slowly he turned to Alex, his face a mask of seriousness and concern. "Arquan?"

Alex snapped his fingers. "Yes, that was it." I'm don't know what it means, but it seems like-"

Triton rushed at him, his large hands grasping the merboy's shoulders painfully. "You're absolutely sure he said Arquan?"

Alex hesitantly placed his hands over the sea king's much bigger ones. "Your majesty, you're hurting me. And yes, he said Arquan."

Triton's grip eased, but the worry was clearly visible in his eyes. "How? In what context was it said?"

"Um…" he thought back to Hemsworth's slurred drunken speech. "I think he said the captain was going to us the trident on it. Yes, he said he was going to use it to resurrect this Arquan thing."

Triton turned away, swearing. The others stared at him, clearly stunned, never having heard the sea king use such foul language, not even Sebastian, who spent the most time with him.

"What ees wrong, your majesty?"

Triton punched the wall in aggravation, making the others wince. "I never expected this. The situation is far more serious than I realized. This means he found it."

He was clearly talking to himself now. Ariel swam over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Daddy, what's wrong? What's Arquan? I've never heard of it before."

"Nor have I," Sebastian added.

The sea king turned back to them. "You were never meant to know. There are some things only the reigning monarch knows of. My father, King Poseidon, told me of it when I took the throne, and I intend to tell Attina when she becomes queen." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But it seems that circumstances have changed. If Bloodshot intends to resurrect Arquan, then the great threat has returned. You will have to know what may be waiting for us if worse comes to worse."

He swam over to his trident and removed it from its pedestal, motioning for the others to follow him. They exchanged curious looks, but swam after him as he led them from the throne room and to a different part of the palace.

Ariel recognized the room they had entered. It was known as the Hall of History, and it acted as an underwater library. This was where the most important events of the mer history were recorded.

Triton swam over to a section of the wall. The others noticed the carving of a circle with three distinct holes in the middle of it. The sea king inserted the end of his trident into these holes and turned. The circle turned with it, acting as a key. The wall slid open to reveal a secret room that Ariel never knew existed.

Sebastian gasped. As the sea king's attendant and most trusted advisor, he had known of this room, but had never been allowed in here before. "Your majesty, are we actually being allowed access een here?"

Triton nodded. "Yes, what I have to share with you is in this room."

Ariel glanced into the darkness. "What _is_ this room? I didn't even know it was here."

"It's a private room for the current king or queen," her father told her. "It holds important and private information that only the rulers of the sea know of. Come."

His trident began glowing to provide them with light as they entered the darkness. Triton swam over to the walls where hieroglyphic-like drawings were carved and began searching for the information he needed.

"Arquan is not an object," he told them. "Arquan is a person, an enemy of both the land and the sea. Back when my grandfather, King Neptune, had first taken the throne, Arquan rose to power. She was a distant relative, and she wanted to rule."

Melody swam over to him and began studying the carvings. "Sounds familiar. I'm guessing she challenged him for the throne. Did it cause a civil war?"

Triton sighed. "I'm afraid it was far worse than a civil war. Like Ursula and Morgana, Arquan was a sea witch as well, only far more powerful, even more powerful than the Sea Sorceress. She even had the power to transform into sea monsters."

Sebastian gulped. "Please tell me you mean like our friend Simon."

The sea king shook his head. "More dangerous ones than like him. I mean sea monsters like a kraken, a hydra, a sea dragon, just to name a few of the forms she took on."

Ariel shivered. A sea witch even more powerful than Ursula did not sound like a good thing. One that could turn into a sea monster sounded even worse. "What did she do?"

Her father continued searching as he spoke. "The details of her crimes are vague, but are said to be horrendous. She tried to take the throne by force, but not even her witchcraft was a match for the power of the trident. She was chased out of Atlantica, banished forever."

Sebastian scratched the back of his head. "I have never heard of any of dis before."

"With good reason," the sea king replied. "Some things are better left unknown."

It didn't take much for Alex to figure out what happened next. "She didn't just give up, did she?"

"No," said Triton, "she did not. She came back several years later, more powerful than ever, having undergone a horrible transformation. She possessed a new power that took the lives of countless merfolk and other sea life." As if ordained by fate, he came across the very drawing he was searching for at that moment. "This power caused anyone who looked upon her to turn to stone."

He held up his glowing trident, and the light from it illuminated the image of a mermaid with eels for hair. All around her were the drawings of statues of merpeople and different types of fish.

Melody stared at the drawing. "That sounds like she became a gorgon. Are those real?"

Sebastian swam over to her and settled on her shoulder so he could see the images on the wall as well. "Dey were once, but dey've been extinct for many years."

Triton placed his hand over the drawings of those Arquan had turned to stone, his heart going out to the tragedy of so many lives lost. "There are many theories of how she got this power. Some said that she drank the blood of the last gorgon, others said she discovered it while dabbling in numerous kinds of dark magic, some say she was simply cursed, and yet others believed that in exchange for her power she sold her soul to Chernabog before he was sealed into Bald Mountain."

Melody looked at her mother. "Who's Chernabog?"

"An ancient evil demonic god," Ariel told her, having heard such ghost stories as a child.

"However she obtained it remains unknown," Triton continued, "but she used it to take the lives of many innocents. And it made fighting her nearly impossible since simply gazing upon her meant instant death. Only the power of the trident kept her at bay."

Alex looked at the image of Arquan. "She sounds horrible."

"It was worse than you think. Arquan had gone completely mad since her banishment. Even her ambitions changed. She wanted to obtain the trident, not to rule, but to destroy. She intended use its power to melt the poles ice caps and flood the planet, and then use her power to turn all life on earth to stone, so she could rule over this cold lifeless world."

And the others had thought that Captain Bloodshot was insane. Arquan sounded utterly psychotic.

Sebastian humphed. "Well, she clearly failed. How deed your grandfather defeat her?"

Triton adjusted the light to another carving. "With the aid of yet another sea witch; a good one. This one constructed a mirror and placed an enchantment on it. Grandfather Neptune managed to trick Arquan into looking into it. While looking at her a reflection of her did no harm, the spell on the mirror caused Arquan's power to reflect back at her, and she ended up turning to stone, and thus her reign of terror came to an end."

The others breathed sighs of relief.

"Then what's the danger?" Ariel asked. "Arquan's gone. As powerful as the trident is, it can't bring the dead back to life."

Her father's fists clenched. "No, it cannot, but that's just the thing. Arquan is not dead."

Sebastian's head snapped towards the sea king. "But… but you just said she turned to stone, your majesty."

Triton sighed again. "Yes, and ordinarily that would mean death, for it's impossible to live when made of stone. But because Arquan only got the rebound from the mirror, she didn't suffer the full affect of her power. Only her outside turned to stone, while her insides remained flesh. She reverted to a hibernation-like state, neither alive or dead, neither conscious or unconscious, trapped in a type of mental limbo, unable to move or do anything, her own body acting as her prison."

"That's unsettling," said Melody. "But why didn't Great-Great Grandfather Neptune just finish her off after that; she was defenseless?"

Triton didn't hold this question against her. Things were done differently in the human world than they were in the mer world. The penalty for treason and other truly notorious crimes was death. Having been raised as a human, it was only natural that she would think this should have been the case within the mer society as well.

"Our society does not practice the death penalty," he told her. "Arquan had been neutralized, and was now trapped within her own stony prison. And she was to remain as such for all eternity. She was placed in an unknown underwater cavern inside an air pocket so no land or sea creature could get to her, and all information about her was removed from history. How Bloodshot managed to find her, I haven't the slightest idea; most likely through the use of his magic, but he must have found her if he's attempting to resurrect her."

Alex glanced at the trident. "Can he, if he manages to get the trident?"

The sea king grudgingly nodded. "The trident has power over all things belonging to the ocean. Even in her stone state, Arquan is of the sea, and can indeed be resurrected with its power."

"But to what end?" Melody asked. "What could he possibly gain by freeing her?"

Ariel immediately developed a theory. "Control. If he thinks he can use the trident to control her, or maybe at least form an alliance with her, it would solve his problem of not being able to rule below the sea. He might be intending to rule through her. He'd rule above, she'd rule below. He probably sees them as the perfect team."

"Than he is a fool," Triton growled. "Arquan is completely out of control. Perhaps he could have made a deal with her in her earlier years, but not any longer. She's become a relentless force of destruction, and there's no telling how much further into madness she's fallen after all this time she's been imprisoned."

"Dee mirror!" Sebastian suddenly cried. "Dee one your grandfather used on her. Where ees it? We should have eet just in case."

Triton shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not an option. After Arquan looked into it, it shattered and was rendered useless."

"Then how about the sea witch that made it?" Melody asked. "By any chance is she around?"

Again, he shook his head in the negative. "She was already old when my grandfather was young, and she had no children or apprentices. No, if Arquan is resurrected, there won't be a magic mirror to stop her."

They all fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally all the facts were on the table. Captain Bloodshot, in his madness, fed off the tails of merfolk because he believed it would allow him to live forever, and he planned to accomplish this by unleashing an even crazier sea witch bent on wiping out the world because he thought he could control her with the trident; at least that seemed to be the case.

"Bloodshot is crazy," said Ariel, "so I can understand why he would do this, but what's in it for his crew? Surely they can't all be as mad as he is."

"No," Alex agreed, "they're just greedy." Or, in Hemsworth's case, desperate. "The captain promised them the treasures of Atlantica if his plan succeeds; it's why they put up with his delusions."

"He will fail," Triton insisted. "We will put an end to this. We'll attack in numbers so great and with enough large ocean life that not even Bloodshot's magic will be able to stop us."

"And I'll have Eric send out more ships to find him," said Ariel.

Triton nodded and turned to his attendant. "Sebastian, summon the war council. We're going to put an end to the threat of this human and Arquan once and for all."

**(A/N: So, after having it mentioned, does anyone remember Arquan. She was mention back in chapter 5 when Hemsworth was drunk. Actually, I hinted at her back in chapter 2; she was what was behind the curtain in Captain Bloodshot's quarters. But even if you did remember, I'll bet you never expected something like this. The situation is a lot more serious than a single deranged captain. Imagine a psychotic version of Ursula with greater powers that turns people to stone if they look at her. By the way, I mention Poseidon as being Triton's father and Neptune as being his grandfather. This was not a mistake. I know in Greek mythology, they were the same person, and a god to boot. The TV serious revealed that Triton's father and grandfather were named after him. We also got to see a bit of Ariel's protective side for her daughter. Not much, just enough for a joke. She trusts Alex and approves of him, but we still need to find out how Eric and Triton feel about the situation. Tune in next week for the next chapter.)**

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	9. Chapter 9: Danger Above, Joy Below

**(A/N: Yeah, reviews! I love reviews. And I love making my fans happy. As for me, I'm particularly happy with the way this chapter turned out. Things get pretty dramatic. I'm not too happy with the title though, but it seemed suitable for what goes on. I also got a little inspiration on how to move the plot forward a bit, which I had yet to come up with before. So read on and let me know what you think.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 9: Danger Above, Joy Below**

In the days that had followed the merboy's escape, there had been little to no activity on the Sea Arrow. The captain had raged for several hours before locking himself in his quarters and drowning himself in rum. Everyone knew to avoid him when he was drinking unless they were in the mood for a flogging. The captain was always an angry drunk, but when he drank while he was already angry, it spelled danger for anyone that was unfortunate enough to cross his path. Anyone that got on the captain's bad side during these times was liable to get shot. Even the captain knew this about himself, which was why he would hide himself in his room.

Hemsworth didn't care about any of that right now. As long as the captain was in his quarters and they were out here, there was nothing to worry about. But even better was the fact that no one seemed to suspect that he had helped the merboy escape. On the contrary, some of them had even shown concern for him after he had been found lying unconscious on the floor.

His hand went to the healing gash on the back of his head. It hurt horribly, but it was worth it. He deserved it anyway. It didn't even come close to making up for even a fraction of the wrongs he had committed though. But maybe helping the merboy escape was the first step towards redemption, if it was even possible for a miserable wretch like him to receive forgiveness.

Sighing, he rested against the railing, looking out at the open sea. This whole idea of getting the sea king's trident to resurrect Arquan needed to have an end put to it. It had been a crazy idea to begin with. He knew that the captain would never stop hunting merpeople, but perhaps he could at least convince him to give up his quest for the trident. After that, he would see about leaving the Sea Arrow for good and returning home to his family.

A tap on his shoulder got his attention, and Hemsworth turned to find another crewmember standing behind him. "The captain wants to see you."

Hemsworth raised an eyebrow. Had the captain managed to sober up and come up with another plan? Did he want to inquire with him further about the merboy escaping? Was he thinking about going after the sea king's human family? On thing was for sure, he definitely wasn't summoning Hemsworth to tell him that he was giving up.

"Thank you, I will report to him immediately."

He hoped that the captain wasn't too drunk. Bad things happened when the captain was really drunk. Or maybe he would be so drunk that he would be borderline unconscious and wouldn't be able to do much of anything.

Hesitantly, he knocked on the door to the captain's quarters. There was no response, but he could hear a rhythmic banging coming from the inside. After taking a moment to work up the courage, he entered the room.

He could tell right away that something was off. The room was dark, and smelled heavily of rum. This much was to be expected, but it was the behavior of the captain that was unusual. Hemsworth couldn't believe it, but the captain was actually _singing_. He had never heard the captain sing before. It was a familiar pirate-themed song, but the captain was singing it at a slow drawn out pace with no emotion in the words that made it sound very eerie. He slammed the bottle of rum on the table along with the words as he sang, which had been the consistent banging Hemsworth had heard outside the door.

"_Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo, ho, ho, 'n' a bottle o' rum. Drink 'n' the devil had done fer the rest. Yo, ho, ho, 'n' a bottle o' rum."_

The captain's creepy tone was making Hemsworth feel uneasy, and he cleared his throat loudly to announce his presence. "You wanted to see me, captain."

The captain slammed the bottle on the table one final time before glancing at his first mate. "Aye, Hemsworth, come in. I had some things I be needin' ta speak with yeh abou'."

Hemsworth nodded, entering the room and closing the door behind him. He felt right away that that was a mistake. Being alone inside a closed room with a drunk Captain Bloodshot was incredibly dangerous. "Of course, sir."

Raising the bottle to his lips, the captain gulped down some more rum. Yes, he was definitely drunk, but he seemed strangely in control of himself. "Quit a tragedy havin' the merboy escape. We were so close ta our goal."

Hemsworth nodded again. "A real shame, sir."

The captain swirled around the contents in the bottle, not even looking at him. "'N' then there be the fact that Triton now be knowin' abou' our plans. Seems we lost the element o' surprise."

"So it seems," Hemsworth agreed. "Perhaps it would be best to forget about the trident. There are other objects of power in the world we could go after. You could try and steal the legendary sword in the stone. I've also heard of a strange black cauldron with the power to raise an army of the dead. Perhaps we should seek it out."

The captain slammed his fist down on the table. "A sword be useless ta me, 'n' that infernal pot lost its power long ago. Even if it hadn', its power wouldn' be able ta suit me needs."

Knowing what he was referring to, Hemsworth glanced at the curtain behind the captain. Arquan was too dangerous to resurrect anyway. They'd be far better off throwing her statue overboard and being down with it.

"Maybe we should just give up on tis, captain," he suggested carefully. "King Triton knows of our plans now; he won't allow us to get our hands on his trident or to even get near his family."

"Not withou' the proper leverage," the captain agreed. "We simply need ta find it." He took another long drink from his bottle. "Tell me again, Hemsworth, how did the merboy escape?"

Hemsworth tensed, though he tried his best to hide it. "As I said, I was watching the fight to make sure that no one approached the boy. After the seagulls attacked, I was knocked out, and that's the last thing I remember."

The captain leaned back in his chair. "So yeh 'ave no idea how he got free from his bindin's?"

Hemsworth shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can only speculate on it. It seems that the merfolk had somehow gotten the seagulls to aid them. I can only conclude that they managed to peck through the rope."

"So yeh said, but I've been thinkin' abou' that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ropes that had tied Alex to the mast. Holding them up, he examined the severed ends. "If the seagulls really had broken through these ropes, the ends be in far worse condition than this. But these be too clean cut, 'n' is it not strange how no other part o' the rope be damaged? Surely if the birds be smart enough ta peck through the ropes, they wouldn' focus on only one specific area."

Hemsworth suddenly felt like he was going to be sick. He hadn't thought about that when he had cut the ropes, nor had expected the captain to pay such close attention to detail. "I have no explanation, sir; I was unconscious. The seagulls pecking through the rope was just a theory."

"I see," the captain replied. He looked back at the ropes. "It almost looks like they were cut with a sword or a knife." His gaze shifted to Hemsworth. "Did yeh know that the merboy had the knife I left with yeh? He threw it at me when I cornered him."

Hemsworth shrugged, doing his best to look clueless. "He must have taken it from me while I was out."

The captain studied him for a bit. "Aye, he must 'ave." Placing the ropes on the table, he interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on them as he studied the first mate curiously. "How be yer head?"

Hemsworth's hand unconsciously adjusted the bandage wrapped around his head. "I'll survive, sir."

The captain nodded. "Nasty thing, havin' a seagull crash inta the back o' yer head like that. Must 'ave really hurt." His bloodshot eyes narrowed. "Strange that it only happened ta yeh though."

Not knowing what else to do, Hemsworth simply shrugged again. "From what I saw, the other birds seemed to be simply distracting you and the others. I was the boy's guard, so they needed to take me out."

"Indeed." For a few moments, silence fell between them, the only sound being that of the captain drumming his fingers on the table. "Tell me, Hemsworth, did yeh ever see a bird crash inta somethin' before; a window or a wall perhaps?"

A confused look appeared on Hemsworth face. "Sir?"

"It happens sometimes. A bird will lose control o' its flyin' by getting caught in a gust o' wind, or simply thinkin' it could fly through a closed window. Most o' the time, they end up cripplin' themselves or even dyin' from the impact, 'n' that be from flyin' at normal speed. In order ter be able ta knock yeh out, the seagull that hit yeh must 'ave been flyin' pretty fast, wouldn' yeh agree?"

Hemsworth felt his mouth had gone dry and struggled to find his voice. "I… suppose…"

The captain leaned forward, his red eyes burning. "Yet we did not find a dead or even an injured seagull anywhere around yeh. Is that not strange?"

This was very bad. Hemsworth suddenly felt as if his life was in grave danger. "Sir-"

"But I'll ell yeh what we did find," the captain interrupted. "This!"

He slammed a gold brick on the table. Hemsworth's eyes widened as he spotted a smear of dry blood on it. The captain's finger skidded over it, wanting Hemsworth to take notice of blemish on the otherwise solid gold bar. Now Hemsworth realized why the captain seemed so in control of himself even though he was drunk. It wasn't that he wasn't angry; it was that he was beyond angry. His fuss was lit, and all his fury was moments away from exploding, and when it did, it was going to be very bad.

"This brick was found within throwin' distance from where yeh were lyin'," the captain told him. "'N' jus' take a look at this." He scratched at the dry blood. "Looks like blood, do it not? Almost as if it had been used as a weapon ta hit someone with. The back o' yer head, perhaps?"

Hemsworth thought quickly, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for this. Anything to cool the captain's rising anger and throw suspicion off himself. "Maybe it was, sir. Perhaps one of the seagulls dropped it on my head instead of crashing into me as I initially thought. It would explain why you didn't find a dead or injured seagull anywhere around me."

The captain drummed his fingers on the top of the gold brick again. "That be awfully smart fer a bunch o' lousy birds, don' yeh think? Never known seagulls ta use weapons before."

The only thing Hemsworth could think to do was shrug once more. "The merfolk must have been instructing them. They seem to be able to communicate with them as well as they do with fish."

The back of his neck tickled as a bead of sweat ran down it, but Hemsworth refused to acknowledge it, fearing it would give him away. The captain was clearly suspicious of him, and he hoped he was providing him with valid answers. The captain was well known to be an angry drunk, but when he turned to the bottle, he also tended to become paranoid. That must have been what this was all about. He had thought that he was finally in reach of his goal, only to have it slip through his fingers. And now that he drank his weight in rum, his paranoia had settled in.

The captain continued to study him. Underneath his thick beard, his mouth was fixed in a disapproving frown. "I find it interestin' how yeh seem ta 'ave a theory fer everythin' that's happened, even though yeh were out cold durin' the time it happened. I doona know wha' happened either, but I do 'ave me own theory. I think I should test it out."

He slammed his fist against the wall and the door suddenly burst open. Several crewmembers that had been waiting outside the door for the captain's signal poured into the room. They seized Hemsworth and forced him to his knees, holding his arms so he couldn't fight back.

Feeling close to panic, Hemsworth looked at the captain, trying to come across as bewildered and outraged. "What's this about?"

The captain stood up, taking the gold brick with him as he limped over to his first mate. "This be abou' discoverin' the truth. Yeh see, I think yeh 'ave lyin' ta me, 'n' I intended ta find out if yeh are, no matter what the cost." The gold brick turned black as he drained it for his magic. "The merboy must o' been in a great deal o' pain bein' left out ta dry like that, yet he was able ta withstand it fer several days. Lets just see how long yeh will last before yeh talk."

Tossing the now black brick aside, the captain raised his glowing hand and tightly grasped Hemsworth's face. Pain exploded throughout the first mate's body. It wasn't a physical pain, but a mental one. He had seen the captain do this before to get others to talk, as long as the person was disposable. The only reason why he hadn't used it on the merboy to find the location of Atlantica was because it could break the mind of the person the spell was used on, and the merboy wouldn't have been able to give the captain the location if that happened. That was why this particular spell was saved for those who the captain didn't entirely mind not getting information from.

Through the agony, Hemsworth could hear the captain demanding answers from him. Not even aware of what he was saying, Hemsworth spoke. He didn't know what he ended up saying, nor did he care. He was willing to do anything just to make the pain stop.

Finally, it did. He had no idea how much time had gone by. He was covered in sweat, breathing heavily, and shaking uncontrollably. Glancing at the captain, he felt his heart beating faster than ever, but not just from the pain. It was the way the captain was looking at him. He didn't know what he had ended up confessing, but clearly it hadn't been well received. The fuss that had been lit inside the captain had finally run out, and he was about to explode.

"Captain-"

A fist slammed into his jaw, followed by another and another. There was a madness in the captain's eyes the likes of which Hemsworth had never seen before.

"Yeh betrayed me!" the captain raged as he continued to hit him. "Betrayed us all, fer a blasted fish! I thought yer family meant more ta yeh than the merfolk, but clearly I was mistaken!"

No, it had been Hemsworth who had been mistaken for thinking he could deceive the captain. This was why he had never tried to secretly aid the people the captain had victimized before. He had always just kept his head down and did what he was told, telling himself that he was doing it for his family, even if it meant damning himself. And now, the one time he had made an exception, he was being reminded why he hadn't helped anyone before.

"If yeh love them fish folk so much," the captain continued, "then yeh can join 'em." He looked to his men. "Gents, it seems we 'ave a traitor in our mists, 'n' I believe it be clear as ta what we do ta all betrayer 'n' mutineers."

There were cries from the crewmembers as Hemsworth was dragged from the room and out onto the deck. The captain grabbed the bottle of rum off the table and took another drink before following them. The crewmembers that weren't holding onto Hemsworth were busy pulling up the anchor.

There was a loud _thud_ as the anchor was dropped onto the deck. Hemsworth struggled as he was dragged over to it, but he knew that it was useless, and he soon found himself tied securely to the anchor.

The captain limped over to him, gulping down more rum as he approached. Pulling the bottle from his lips, he addressed his crew. "Gents, our dear old friend, Mr. Hemsworth here, has seen fit ta betray us. Betrayal 'n' mutiny go hand in hand on this here ship. 'N' do we 'ave a place fer betrayers 'n' mutineers here?"

There were cries of "No" from the crewmembers.

"Then we best be sendin' him on his merry way. Those that 'ave no place on this vessel don' belong here." He looked back at Hemsworth, his eyes burning. "So be gone yeh lousy no good traitor."

He motioned to his crew, then turned and began limping away. As the crew struggled to lift the anchor with Hemsworth tied to it, the former first mate glared at the captain's backside. All the hatred and disgust he felt for the vile man was written all over his face. But maybe he deserved this after all the horrible things he did. At least he had finally done something good in his miserable life before he died. He was finally free from this cursed ship, and he could at last speak his mind of what he truly felt.

"It's yes!" he shouted at the captain's back.

Turning around, the captain gave him a curious look. "What is?"

Hemsworth glared at him. "The question you asked me before; if you're a monster. The answer is yes."

The captain seemed to think on this for a few moments before he remembered, and an arrogant smirk crept up his face. "I know."

He gestured for his crew to continue as he turned his back on his former first mate. There was a resounding _splash_, followed by cheers from the crew. The captain glanced down at the last bit of rum that was left in the bottle, swiveling it around as he slowly sang the final verse of the song. _"'N' a sudden plunge in the sullen swell. Ten fathoms deep on the road ter Hell."_ He brought the bottle to his lips and finished it off. _"Yo, ho, ho, 'n' a bottle o' rum."_

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

King Triton had spent a great deal of time with the war council coming up with battle plans. The biggest issue seemed to be that they didn't have enough information on Captain Bloodshot's magical abilities, and thus they didn't know how to handle him. It would be in incredibly dangerous to go into battle against him without knowing what he was capable of.

The plan so far seemed to be to overwhelm the Sea Arrow with superior numbers and sea creatures of enormous sizes. Already there was a giant squid on standby for the upcoming battle. One of the advisors had even gone as far as suggesting that they call on Monstro, the giant sperm whale/blue whale hybrid, known for swallowing entire ships whole, but due to the whale's ruthless nature, this idea was deemed to risky and was dismissed.

Sebastian took the liberty of informing Ariel and Melody of what went on during the council meetings, and Melody in turn would tell Alex. They wanted to be kept in the loop, but they also tried not to dwell on the gloomy topic of war; for that was indeed what this was. It may not have been an enemy that was large in numbers, or be an epic battle that would last for years on end, but it was still a war nevertheless. Even a battle between a gang of grasshoppers and an army of ants could be considered a war.

The biggest issue though was the possible threat of Arquan getting resurrected. Even though she wasn't an immediate threat and could only be revived if Captain Bloodshot managed to get his hands on the triton, they still needed to be prepared, just in case the worst should happen. Unfortunately, there was just no possible way to prepare for the return of the wicked mermaid, and worst of all, if she was resurrected, it would mean that the sea king would no longer have the trident anymore to keep her at bay.

When there wasn't talk of war, Melody and Alex spend their time enjoying each other's company. They wanted to savor this time together, just in case it didn't last. Melody was also finally able to take pleasure in her mermaid form without constantly worrying, and she could at last experience the wonders of the ocean.

Alex showed her all around Atlantica, introducing her to many different people, mer and fish alike. Tide and Sea-Sea, Tip and Dash, and Flounder and his guppies would join them from time, but mostly they spent their days in one another's company.

"This is so incredible," Melody said in awe as she twirled around. "I still can't believe that I'm here with you like this. It's all I ever wanted and more. I never want to leave."

Alex came up behind her, hugging her from behind. "I know, it's wonderful," he said, wrapping his tail around hers. "Soon we'll be able to spend our whole lives together like this."

"I can't wait for that day to come," she told him. "After this whole thing with the pirates is settled, I want to talk to Mom, Dad, and Grandfather about me becoming a mermaid permanently." She sighed, closing her eyes as she rested her head back against his shoulder. "I don't ever want to go back to being human, but I have a few affairs I need to set in order before I leave the land for good."

Alex felt his heart leap excitedly. "What a coincidence, because I was just thinking about asking them for your hand."

Melody chuckled as she turned around to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "So you finally worked up the courage to ask your king to hand over his granddaughter, huh?"

He kissed her forehead and rubbed his nose against hers affectionately. "Yeah, well, getting caught by Bloodshot and not knowing if I would ever see you again helped me to get _my_ affairs in order. I don't want to miss out on anything with you or end up with any regrets simply because I was too afraid to face my king. Really, I should have had the nerve to ask a long time ago."

"Well," she said teasingly, "Grandfather can be rather intimidating at times."

Alex suddenly found himself unwillingly remembering the so-called negotiations that had taken place between Captain Bloodshot and the sea king. Though the captain had been cautious of the sea king's power, he had faced him like he could care less about who he was.

"It's a shame old Bloodshot isn't intimidated by him," he said without thinking. He realized his mistake as the smile left Melody's face. "Oh no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kill the mood. I wasn't thinking."

She shook her head. "No, you're right. As long as he's a threat, we'll never have peace. I just hope everything works out in the end."

He playfully tapped her nose. "Don't worry, it will. I have the utmost confidence in your grandfather. As long as Bloodshot doesn't get hold of you, your mother, your aunts, or cousins, he won't have anything to trade the trident for. Everything will be fine."

She still looked concerned. "What about Dorian? As long as we stay underwater, we'll be safe, but what if Bloodshot goes after my brother?"

He gave her a smile. "I doubt he will. Dorian will be safe in the palace with all the guards and servants. Bloodshot may be crazy, but he's not suicidal. Not even with his magic and his entire crew will he be able to stage a kidnapping like that, especially if your parents are prepared for him."

Melody sighed. "I still can't believe a bunch of pirates are after Grandfather's trident. He can't give it up, not even for any of us."

He rested his forehead against hers. "He knows that, but you'd be surprised what one would give up for those they love."

She looked up at him, smiling fondly. "No, I wouldn't."

She kissed him, wrapping her arms around him. Her tail unconsciously entwined with his the same way his always did with her legs back when she was human. His wrapped around hers as well as he kissed her back. It was all so much more sensual as a mermaid. All her senses were heightened, and her tail was extra sensitive than the rest of her body. Was it that scales were more sensitive than flesh? Was this how fish felt things? She wondered what it would be like to make love as a mermaid, not that she had anything to compare it to.

Alex must have been having similar thoughts, because he suddenly pulled away as Ariel's warning flashed through his mind. "I think it would be better if we held back, at least until the wedding. You've got too many family members around, and I don't need them coming down on me for dishonoring you."

Melody chuckled and grabbed his hand. "Well, come on then. Lets go take care of this right now."

A look of confusion crossed his face. "Um, what do you mean?"

Her smile was playful and mischievous. "Well, you said that you were ready to ask Grandfather for his blessings, so lets go ask. Then we can announce to everyone that we're engaged."

"Wait, you mean ask him right now?"

She gave him a pointed look. "You said you were ready and were going to."

"Well, yeah, but not while he's busy planning for a war. He's probably really stressed out, and-"

"Then he could use a bit of good news right about now. Come on, don't be a guppy."

Alex hesitantly followed as Melody all but dragged him along. Going by unnoticed by either of them, someone watched from behind a stone pillar as the two swam off. A sinister cackle escaped the person's lips as a wicked plan began to unfold in their mind.

**(A/N: I know, I know, a lot of you are probably upset at me for killing off Hemsworth. I'll bet I had a lot of you on the edge of your seat on whether or not I would do it or not. Truthfully, I had been debating a long time on whether or not I should kill him off or not. In the end, I felt like it worked out best that way, but only after he gained redemption for all the wrong he had committed. I also think it shows off Captain Bloodshot's more sinister side, and that he's not just a mad man, but a truly evil person beneath his insanity. And I felt that the final verse of Dead Man's Chest fit in perfectly with that scene while adding to the eeriness of Captain Bloodshot's personality. But after that tragic scene, we had a more light-hearted one with Melody and Alex getting to enjoy their time together. And Alex has finally worked up the courage to ask Triton for permission to marry Melody, with a little persuasion from her. Seriously though, can you blame him for being nervous? Could you work up the courage to ask? But what's this? Someone had been listening in, someone with sinister intentions. Who is this, what role will they play, and how will it affect the situation? You'll have to stay tuned to find out. Oh, and one more thing, it seems that the links I'm pasting for artwork I found aren't always appearing. Sorry about that. Stupid FanFiction and it's no links rules. I'll keep posting them, in the hopes that they'll work.)**

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	10. Chapter 10: For Love, and For Vengeance

**(A/N: I knew people would be upset about me killing off Hemsworth. If it makes anyone feel better, I haven't entirely decided that he's dead yet. Maybe a merperson will find and untie him in time. No promises though, it's just a possibility. I also had a few guesses as to who the person spying on Melody and Alex was. You'll find out today. Oh, and to answer the question I was asked, yes, I did see **_**Fantasia**_**, it was quite interesting. It starts out dull at the beginning, but gets better later. Anyway, we last left off with Melody encouraging Alex to ask Triton for her hand. Lets see how that works out. Again, I'm not happy with the chapter title, so I'm open to other suggestions.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 10: For Love, and For Vengeance**

With another meeting concluded for the day, King Triton made his way to his throne room, hoping for some peace and quiet. Being king was so very stressful, especially during wartime. Truth be told, he would be glad when he could finally retire from all this. His reign had been long and prosperous, but it was coming to an end, and it was a great weight off his shoulders. It was just a shame that he would have to place the burden of ruling the entire ocean onto Attina, but that was the responsibility that fell upon the firstborn of the royal family.

Upon entering the throne room, he was surprised to see Melody and Alex waiting for him. His granddaughter had a big smile on her face while Alex almost looked afraid. Triton raised an eyebrow at the merboy's nervousness, wondering what was wrong, but he still gave them a smile, happy for the company.

"Melody, Alex, how are you?"

The former swam over to him. "We're both doing good, Grandfather, but how are you doing?"

An exhausted sigh escaped him. "I will be fine, I'm just a little tired is all."

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Did the meeting run a long time?"

"They always do. There are many things to go over."

"I'm sorry," she told him.

And all this was because of Captain Bloodshot and his crazy ambitions to rule the world and live forever. Truthfully, she had no idea why so many people wanted to rule. It just seemed so overrated. Was it really all that great to rule over everything? Just so you had control over everything? Sure, you were in a position of power and held a strong title, but so much responsibility and lack of freedom came with it that there didn't seem to be much time to actually enjoy life. She was only a princess, and that alone was stressful and restricting enough. Did those that craved power really think that being at the top and commanding everything and everyone was worth it? She certainly didn't think so. She loved the freedom that royalty seemed to lack, and the chance to live and enjoy life to it's fullest the way she wanted.

Her grandfather gave her a tired smile. "I have long since gotten used to it after all this time. I will soon be passing on the crown to your Aunt Attina anyway."

Alex bowed his head. "You have been a great ruler, you majesty, and we know that Princess Attina will be a worthy successor."

Triton gave him an appreciative smile. "I have the utmost faith in her as well." He placed a hand on Melody's shoulder. "Just as I have faith in your ability to rule when the time comes."

A slightly guilty look crossed her face, and she carefully removed his hand from her shoulder, but kept hold of it. "Actually, Grandfather, there's something you should know. Truthfully, I have no intention of ruling. I plan on abdicating my claim to the throne and letting Dorian become king."

Triton was clearly surprised by this news. "Abdicate the throne? But why? Whatever for?"

She gave him an awkward smile. "Being queen just never suited me. I was never cut out for it. Besides, I have other plans. That's actually why we came to see you in the first place." She swam back over to Alex. "There's something that Alex wants to tell you, isn't that right?"

The sea king looked at the merboy. "Yes, son, what is it?"

Melody looked at him expectantly, but Alex was frozen in place. She lightly smacked him with her tail to get him going, and he slowly swam towards his king. When he was right in front of him, he struggled to find his voice. His lips moved, but no words came out.

Triton raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong? You have nothing to worry about, my boy. You know you can tell me anything."

He may have been saying that now, but he might change his mind when he actually heard what he had to say. "Y-Your majesty… I… I mean… may I… mayImarryyourgranddaughter?"

Triton blinked. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that."

Alex swallowed and tried again. "Your majesty, I-I… I humbly ask for permission to marry Princess Melody."

A few seconds of silence passed before a surprised look crossed Triton's face. "I beg your pardon?"

Even underwater, Alex's tongue felt dry. "T-The princess and I wish to wed. We have come to ask for your blessings."

Triton stared at him with a blank look. He hadn't expected this. He had thought that the merboy was going to tell him something important he hadn't mentioned about Captain Bloodshot, either because he hadn't remembered or because he had been too afraid to say anything. Instead he was coming to him to ask him for permission to marry his granddaughter? He certainly hadn't seen that coming.

He looked at his granddaughter to see her biting her bottom lip nervously with an anxious pleading smile on her face. How very much alike she and her mother were; Ariel had done the same thing whenever she would ask for something she really wanted from him.

"I was not aware that the two of you had that sort of relationship."

Melody shrugged guiltily. "We decided to keep it a secret to avoid any problems. People on land tend to frown upon romantic relationships between royalty and commoners." She gave Alex an affectionate smile. "Not that there's anything about you that's common."

As Alex blushed, Triton resisted the urge to sigh at all the ridiculous rules that human society followed. "You should know that that is not an issue under the sea. You did not need to keep your relationship a secret." His thoughts turned to his beloved deceased wife. "And you should know that I would never stand between two people in love." The case 17 years ago with his daughter falling in love with a human being the exception. He glanced at Alex, his face completely serious. "Do you love her?"

Alex looked back at Melody, his eyes shining with his love for her. "More than anything, your majesty."

Triton noted the look of joy on his granddaughter's face at the merboy's words, and he felt great happiness for her. "Just how long have the two of you been in a relationship?"

Melody tapped her index fingers together nervously. "Um, nearly four years now."

That surprised the sea king even more. He had thought that he knew nearly everything that went on in his ocean. How had they managed to keep their relationship a secret from him for so long?

"Alex, rise." He waited until the merboy looked up at him. "I greatly appreciate that you have asked me for permission, but it is not me that you should be asking. It is her parents."

Alex bowed his head again. "I fully intend to, your majesty, but we wanted to receive your blessings first."

Triton smiled and placed his hands on the merboy's shoulders. "Alex, I have known you all your life. You are a fine young man. Your mother and my daughter were the closest of friends, and I have thought of your father as the son I never had. If my granddaughter has chosen you to be her husband, how could I possibly say no? Of course you have my approval, and my blessings."

Alex almost couldn't believe it. He actually had the sea king's blessings. This was too good to be true. He was now halfway there. Now he just had to ask King Eric and Queen Ariel for their blessings, and then the two of them could finally get married.

He opened his mouth to thank the sea king, but Melody rushed past him and hugged her grandfather around the middle tightly. "Thank you, Grandfather! Thank you so much!"

The sea king looked surprised at her reaction, but then he smiled and returned the hug. "Melody, my dear, you know I would do anything to make you happy. If this is what you really want, then of course I would support you."

A slight frown crossed his face as he realized that in order for this to work out, one of them would have to make a permanent transition from the world that they knew. He still did not approve of merfolk becoming human, but like with his daughter, he wanted Melody to be happy, and so he would make another exception if Alex decided to become human for his granddaughter's sake. However, he did hold out the hope for an alternative.

"You do know what this means for one of you," he told them. "Alex, either you will have to permanently become human, or, Melody, you will have to permanently become a mermaid."

She looked up at him, smiling. "We know, Grandfather. It's not even an issue. I always wanted to be a mermaid, to be part of the sea. You made me the offer after Morgana was defeated. I wanted to take it up then, but I also wanted to stay with my parents longer. So I decided to wait, and take you up on your offer once I grew up, but I always intended to join the merpeople." She gave him a hopeful look. "The offer does still stand, doesn't it?"

Triton chuckled. "Melody, you are my precious granddaughter. I would love for you to embrace your mer heritage and have you here with the rest of us if that is what you want. Of course my offer still stands."

Melody squealed with joy and hugged him again. "Thank you, Grandfather! I love you!"

He smiled down at her, patting her head. "I love you too, my dear, and you are very welcome."

She broke away from him and swam over to Alex, hugging him tightly. "Isn't it wonderful, Alex? We got his blessings, and I'm going to get to be a mermaid forever!"

Of course Alex was happy. He was overjoyed, but even though he had received the sea king's blessings, showing too much affection right in of him didn't seem like such a good idea.

As Melody moved in to kiss him, she noticed the way he was looking at her grandfather. She took the hint and whispered in his ear. "Lets go somewhere more private."

Triton watched as they swam from the throne room, hand in hand. He smiled as he sank in his throne, reminiscing on his joyful days with his lovely Athena.

"Ah," he sighed, "to be young and in love."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Elsewhere in the palace, a certain mermaid was doing her best to stay out of sight. It was very important that she stay hidden. If anyone happened to see her, they would raise the alarm, and it would be right back to the dungeon with her.

With enough wrinkles to rival the former advisor of a certain immature Peruvian emperor, Marina Del Rey didn't think she had much time left. She had already been up there in years before she was thrown in the dungeon 20 years ago after attempting to kill off Sebastian and Princess Ariel, and her time in prison hadn't done her looks any favors.

It was meant to be a life sentence, but she had managed to escape a few days ago. Not on her own of course, that would have been impossible with all of the guards and mutant crabs that had been created by the psychotic Dr. Vile that had been taken in by the sea king after the insane scientist had finally been caught and arrested for illegal experiments and animal cruelty. But with the issue with the pirates, the guards had been pulled off duty to aid in the rescue with the merboy the pirates had caught, leaving behind only a select few guards to watch over the prisoners with the mutant crabs to aid them, much like the humans did with guard dogs.

While security had been lacking, Marina had received a visit from her only friend and former lackey, Benjamin. With so few guards around, Marina had used the opportunity to beg her old friend to help her escape. She told him that after having been in jail for 20 years, she had long since learned her lesson and served her time. She said that in her old age, she feared that she didn't have very many years left, and she didn't want to die in this jail cell. She said that she wanted to live out her remaining years free and in peace, promising that she would leave Atlantica and never return.

Benjamin wasn't a bad person, not really. He was just incredibly naïve, and easily susceptible to Marina's manipulation. It was for this reason that she had always managed to take advantage of the manatee, even when he kept trying to do good. He wanted what was best for her, but she almost always seemed to be able to somehow use her mostly loyal companion to her advantage, whether he wanted to be a participant or not.

Being the naïve and caring person he was, Benjamin had finally given in to Marina's request for freedom. While security was lacking, he helped her escape from her cell and hid her somewhere in the palace away from everyone until the coast was clear for her to leave the underwater city without being seen. After wishing her good luck with her newfound freedom, he left her with tears in his eyes, knowing he would never see his friend again.

But Marina had not left the palace as she had said she would. Yes, she had wanted freedom from her cell, but there was something else she wanted too, something she desired even more than her freedom, and that was revenge; revenge against the ungrateful mermaid princess that had ruined everything for her.

Why did the little brat have to interfere? After everything she had done for her and her sisters as their governess, the little wench had gone and messed up everything she had worked so hard to achieve. It was because of her that she had lost everything and winded up in jail.

Marina and been underminded and disrespected by the princesses and Sebastian for years, but she had risen above all that. After gaining the crab's job and landing him and his musical friends in the slammer, she had been at the top of the world, finally gaining the position of power she deserved to be in. That is, until the youngest of the sea king's daughters had to go and stick her nose where it didn't belong by breaking Sebastian and his friends out of jail and then running away with them.

Marina could admit that after she had learned of Sebastian's escape and Ariel's departure, she had gone a little mad. Unleashing her pack of flesh eating electric eels to go and kill them had been a mistake on her part… she should have planned things out more carefully, and then killed them. Instead, Ariel had once again interfered, and Marina had ended up in prison for attempting to assassinate a princess of Atlantica.

During her 20 years in prison, Marina had become a vindictive individual. She had grown bitter and mean, even more so than she already was. Her hatred had consumed her, and she had become filled with thoughts of revenge. Getting even was all she could think about for years, and now that she was finally free from that accursed cell, she couldn't possibly leave without taking revenge. And not just against the one who had gotten her thrown in prison, but against the brat's father as well. He was the one who, she felt, unjustly had her imprisoned for 20 years.

As the sea king, Triton had always been in the highest position of power there was in the entire ocean. She had been in a position of power too, only to have it stripped away from her. Well, soon he would learn what that felt like. He would know how it felt to have all his power and authority torn away from him. It was the perfectly type of revenge, poetic even, suitable for the one who took away her own power and locked her away for so long.

It seemed that Fate itself was favoring her. There was gossip all over the palace of what going on up above. But since Marina had to remain in hiding, she could only hear bits and pieces of information that the merpeople spoke of. It wasn't until she had overheard the conversation between Ariel's daughter and the blonde merboy she was with that she was able to fully grasp what was going on.

This was all too good to be true. It was the perfect opportunity for her to get her revenge. From what she heard, this person, Bloodshot, or whatever his name was, and his gang of pirates were planning on kidnapping one of Triton's children or grandchildren, and then holding them for ransom in exchange for the trident. Helping out this pirate captain could work out well in her favor.

Personally, she could care less if a human got hold of the trident. It wasn't like they could use it to the full extent of its power while above sea level anyway. No, it was meant to be used by someone beneath the sea. Besides, Marina would be far away from Atlantica by the time the exchange took place, and therefore away from any danger that may come to place once the trident ended up in human hands. And she would have her revenge. Those she felt had wronged her would suffer, and the sea king would lose his weapon of power to boot.

It was then that she had formulated a plan. She would get Bloodshot the leverage he needed to force Triton to hand over his precious trident. That would take care of her revenge against the sea king. But she would still need to take revenge against a certain redheaded mermaid that got her thrown in jail in the first place. Therefore, she decided to set her sights on Ariel's daughter. After all, it was said that there was no greater pain than the loss of a child. And when she delivered the princess to the pirate leader, she would suggest that he have a certain crab dinner once he got the trident to celebrate his victory.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Melody was on cloud nine, if that expression could indeed even be used underwater. Her grandfather had given her and Alex his blessings, and her mother already knew and approved of their intentions. Now all she had to do was talk it over with her father. Unfortunately, with Captain Bloodshot still at large, it was considered too dangerous for anyone, especially those of the royal family, to go to the surface. But that was ok, it would give her time to figure out how to tell her parents that she was planning on leaving them to become a mermaid for good. She planned on telling them both about her decision at the same time, so she hadn't mentioned it to her mother yet.

That was going to be an uncomfortable conversation. How had her mother done it with her father? It certainly wasn't going to be easy, and would no doubt tearful. But it was Melody's life, and she had to live it the way she saw fit. Not even her status as a princess was going to stop her. She and Alex would elope and run away together if that's what it took, but she didn't think it would come to that.

On a happier note, she wondered what it would be like living in Atlantica. The prospect had her very excited. She felt that right now she was only getting a taste for what life had in store for her here. Once the threat of Captain Bloodshot and Arquan was out of the way, she would truly be able to enjoy her life her to the fullest. She would also be able to get to know her aunts, uncles, and cousins better, and make a bunch of new friends. It was going to be great.

Having woken up this morning with plans to go exploring some more with Alex, she made her way to what passed for the powder room where her mother and her sisters had spent their mornings getting ready. As she sat down at the mirror, combing her long black hair, she admired her appearance in the mirror. Though she wasn't one for vanity, she felt so beautiful as a mermaid, and she didn't need to have fancy clothes, a ton of makeup, and a bunch of jewelry to look it.

Truthfully, she hated all that stuff, instead preferring the more simply things. As a mermaid, the only things she wore were her shell-bra and her necklace, yet she still felt even more beautiful than she did when wearing the most expensive of dresses and a face full of makeup. She had a natural beauty that she felt truly came out fully in her mermaid form. Humans would say that her state of dress was incredibly immodest, but mer society held different beliefs. She knew that Alex found her beautiful no matter what form she was in, he had told her as much on numerous occasions, but she could tell that he found her far more appealing as a mermaid. That was ok, because she did too. Her tail was far more gorgeous that her human legs anyway. It shined and sparkled like it was covered in diamonds, as opposed to her human legs, which were merely flesh like the rest of her.

After combing out her hair, she ran her fingers through the silky strands, over her cheeks, and down her curvy figure to her tail. Smiling, she got up and swam from the room, looking forward to meeting Alex to see what he had planned for them today. She was completely unaware that she was being watched, and now followed, by someone sticking to the shadows.

It was when she was alone when a voice called out to her. "Princess Melody, a moment, if you please."

Turning around, she saw an elderly mermaid with black hair and a green tail swimming towards her. Having heard the story from her mother, she knew who Marina Del Rey was, but did not know what she looked like. Had she grown up in Atlantica, she would have been aware of who it was she was now alone with, but instead was left to believe that this was just another resident of the palace. But Marina had taken further precautions by exchanging her usual violet colored wig with a black one and slipping an outfit over her lower body to make her tail look green instead of its natural purple.

"Yes," she said, "what can I do for you?"

Marina resisted the urge to breath a sigh of relief, glad that the princess didn't know who she was. She didn't think she would since the two of them had never seen each other before, yet it had still been a bit of a gamble. But she needed the princess to come with her to get her away from any possible witnesses.

"You're grandfather, the king, wishes to speak to you about some urgent business," she lied.

Melody frowned worriedly. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh, I'm sure it is. He just needs to have a word with you in private. Please come with me."

Feeling she had no reason to doubt the elderly mermaid, Melody followed her. With an arrogant smirk, Marina led her through the palace, taking a route that not many people went down. Not completely familiar with the palace's layout yet, Melody didn't notice anything unusual about where they were going, such as the fact that her guide was leading her through several passages that almost doubled back the way they came. And with Marina leading the way, she did not notice the way the woman's eyes darted around to keep a watch for any witnesses.

Finally coming to a room where everything was set up, Marina halted by the door and motioned for Melody to enter. "In here, princess. The king will be with you shortly."

Melody nodded to her. "Thank you. And if you could do me a favor and tell Alex that I will be a little late to our meeting, I would greatly appreciate it. Um, you do know who I'm talking about, right?"

Marina actually had no clue, but she assumed that she meant the blonde merboy she had seen him with the other day. Not that it mattered. Odds were that the little princess would never see him again. Personally, she could care less what happened to her once she handed her over to Captain Bloodshot.

"But of course I do," she said. "I will tell him right away."

"Thank you?" Melody replied, and swam into the room.

It was rather dark in here, even with her mermaid eyesight that adapted to the darkness of the deeper parts of the ocean. She looked around, and saw the curtains made of seaweed were pulled down over the window. No wonder it was so dark. She swam over to the window and pulled the kelp aside, letting light fill the room. It didn't last long as something struck her over the head, and everything went black.

**(A/N: Oh no, things just went bad. And things had been going so well too. Triton had given his blessings, but that might not matter soon. I'll bet none of you imagined it would be Marina that had been spying on them. She's out of her cell, and she's out for revenge. But what's she going to do now that she has Melody? From the looks of things, she's going to turn her over to Captain Bloodshot. It seems that Marina didn't hear the full extent of his plans and knows nothing of Arquan. By the way, did anyone notice that Marina's name is remarkably similar to Merlin's nemesis, who is a witch? Morgana Le Fay, Marina Del Rey. Was that a coincidence? Anyway, we'll be seeing what becomes of Melody next chapter. Feel free to review, and here's to hoping the following link works.)**

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	11. Chapter 11: Special Delivery

**(A/N: To answer the question that was asked, a reference to Captain Hook was already made in the second chapter when I was describing Captain Bloodshot's reputation. It's ambiguously mentioned in the paragraph following Captain Bloodshot asking Hemsworth if he's a monster. No actual names are mentioned, but I believe it's fairly obvious as to who is being referred to. Anyway, this chapter really gets into the heads of my characters, well the villains anyway. Especially Captain Bloodshot. We'll see how his thought process works and witness just how completely deranged he really is.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 11: Special Delivery**

The first thing she became conscious of was the pounding in her head. On reflex, she tried to reach for the spot where she had been hit, only to find that she couldn't. She also felt a pull on her tail when she did tried, but found mobility in that restricted too.

Blinking open her eyes, Melody realized that she was being dragged through the water. Struggling, she discovered that she was hogtied with her hands behind her back and the robe wrapped around the end of her tail to prevent her from swimming. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but sound that she was gagged as well. Only muffled cries escaped her as she thrashed about, trying to get loose.

"Shut up, and quit struggling!" an irritated voice snapped.

Melody recognized the voice. She attempted to look over her shoulder, which was rather difficult from the awkward position she was tied in. As her mass of black hair moved aside, she saw the elderly mermaid that had led her through the palace before she was knocked out. She looked different now though. Her tail was purple and her hair was violet, but it was undoubtedly the same person, and she was now dragging Melody along by the rope as she made her way to wherever she was going.

Melody attempted, quite unsuccessfully, to shout at the woman through her gag, and Marina threw her a dirty look. "Don't bother, I can't understand a word you're saying. I was hoping that you would remain unconscious until I was rid of you. Perhaps I should have hit you harder."

Melody's eyes widened. She had hit her? Of course, that must have been what that blow to her head was. It also explained why she had such a terrible headache. But who was this woman, and what did she want with her?

Deciding that she didn't want to find out, Melody began thrashing around again. This accomplished nothing, since swimming proved to be impossible with her hands and tail tied together behind her. As she attempted to get away, Marina stopped swimming and held onto the end of the rope while Melody struggled, snapping at her to stop what she was doing.

"You're making this far more difficult than it needs to be!"

Melody ignored her and continued struggling. Unfortunately, it was quickly exhausting all her energy, not to mention she was still feeling disorientated. In her old age, Marina was unable to pull her along while she was putting up a fight, and instead was forced to simply hold on while she waited for the princess to tire herself out.

Finally, Melody's struggles ceased as her strength ran out. Marina glared at her and gave the rope an extra hard tug, causing Melody to groan as the rope yanked on her.

"Serves you right!" Marina snapped. "You snot-nosed brats are so spoiled. You deserve some rough treatment. I should have given you all a much firmer hand, regardless if you were royalty or not."

Melody gave her a confused look, wondering just what was going on. She had no idea what this woman was talking about, but she seemed to know her. But then again, there weren't that many people that didn't know who she was.

Marina turned her back on her and began dragging her along again. Though she was still worn out Melody began struggling once more. Angrily, Marina turned back to her and whacked her with her tail. "Stop it! You can't get away, I've made sure of it. You're only going to end up tiring yourself out even more, maybe even hurting yourself."

That last part was true. Not only was she at risk at getting rope burns, but her arms were tied so securely and so far behind her back that she might end up dislocating her shoulders if she struggled too hard.

"That's better," Marina grumbled as Melody stopped struggling. "And if you fight me any more, I'll pull you along by your hair. Do I make myself clear?"

Melody didn't answer, and Marina didn't wait for one as she began dragging her once more. Ignoring her for now, Melody looked around for anything familiar, but saw that they were in the open ocean, and there were no 'landmarks' anywhere. Her mermaid intellect was telling her which direction Atlantica was in, but it was far from sight. Where was this woman taking her, and for what purpose?

Almost as if she had read her mind, Marina spoke. "I assume you're wondering what this is all about? It's rather simply really. I'm fixing an injustice. The daughter shall pay for the sins of the mother, or however the saying goes."

Melody blinked. This woman had a grudge against her mother? Was that what this was all about? But what could her mother possibly have done to make this woman resort to kidnapping?

Marina looked back at her. "You still look confused. I wonder if you're miserable excuse of a mother would have even mentioned me, or if she simply forgot me after everything I've done for her and her sisters." She held her arms out, as if she were presenting herself. "You're looking at the beautiful, the marvelous, the multitalented Marina Del Ray."

A muffled gasp escaped from Melody's gagged mouth. She recognized the name. Marina Del Ray was the former governess to her mother and aunts; that is, before she attempted to assassinate her mother and her friends in order to keep her new promotion. But what was she doing here? Her mother had told her that she was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Marina noticed the look of recognition in Melody's eyes. "Ah, so you _do_ know who I am. Then I guess you can figure out what this is all about. Revenge. Your mother got me sent to jail for 20 years, but I managed to escape a few days ago. Now it's my turn to get even for such an injustice."

Melody resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If going to jail for attempting to kill a princess of Atlantica was an injustice, then she wondered what kind of punishment Marina would have thought was appropriate. The human justice system would most likely have sentenced Marina to death. Attempted murder was bad enough, but against a member of the royal family was also treason.

But perhaps in Marina's mind, she could do no wrong. What she said was right, no matter how wrong it actually was, was right, and what she said was wrong, no matter how right it actually was, was wrong. It was a massive ego trip, one that left her far too full of herself. It left her unable to see anything beyond her own wants and needs.

Marina was oblivious to Melody's thoughts as she became so wrapped up in her own, and she had no qualms about voicing them out loud. "Oh yes, this was such a long time in coming. I gave your mother and your aunts the best years of my life, and they gave me nothing but grief in return. Ungrateful brats is what they were, all of them. Disobedient, disrespectful, misbehaving, always causing trouble! Such a rotten lot!"

She threw Melody a dirty look. "You're no different. You and all you royals. You're fortunate to be born into lives of privilege and luxury. You have no idea what it's like to truly work for what you have, to climb your way to the top. Spoiled ingrates, all of you!"

Melody glared right back at her. She may have taken care of her mother and aunts, but Marina clearly had the wrong idea of how things worked in the royal family. It seemed she, like so many others, only saw the good parts that being a member of royalty brought. She didn't know how much work was involved, didn't know the stress of how a single decision could affect the lives of the millions of people in the kingdom, didn't see how much responsibility came with it, didn't know all the rules and traditions that had to be followed, or all the studying and training that had to be undergone. It was very restricting, as a certain princess from another kingdom had pointed out before accidentally turning her mother into a bear.

The pressures of ruling a kingdom, even of simply being trained to take over the position one day, required more time and energy than anyone should have to give. Leaders didn't have so much power and authority so they could do whatever they wanted; it was so they could take care of their people and their country. To not fill these responsibilities meant allowing the country to fall to ruin, as had become of certain pride lands when the scar-faced lion became king.

"But I know," Marina continued. "I know what it's like to claw your way to the top. It was no easy task finding a way to discredit that wretched crab so I could obtain his position. But I did it. I was at the top. And your mother went and took it away."

Melody wanted to point out that digging up dirt to discredit fellow employees until you were the only one left to take over the position did not qualify as working hard and clawing your way to the top, but her gag prevented her from speaking.

The elderly mermaid chuckled wickedly. "And now I've taken something away from her. Something far more precious than a job or a title. Personally, I wouldn't know what it would feel like to lose my child since I have no kids, but I hear that there's no greater pain."

Melody felt a rush of fear run through her. She had wondered what Marina was planning on doing with her, but from what she had just said, it sounded as if she was planning to…

Once again, Marina seemed to realize what she was thinking. "Oh, calm down; I'm not going to kill you. If I had wanted to do that, I would have done it back in the palace instead of dragging you all the way out here. No, I've got something different in mind. You see, princess, after I got out of that cell, I had to lay low for a while. It would have been bad if someone in the palace saw me and recognized me. So I spent a lot of time hiding. Yet I still overheard a lot of the gossip around the palace, including what was said about a certain pirate threat."

She looked back at Melody, and smirked at the look of panic that crossed her face. "Oh yes, I know all about it. A certain Captain Bloodshot is after the sea king's trident, and he intends to get his hands on a member of the royal family to hold them for ransom. Well, I intend to give him exactly what he needs. And knowing your grandfather, he'll hand his precious trident over in exchange for you. Then the entire royal family will know what it's like to lose their position power, just as I did."

Melody felt her blood run cold as she understood what Marina was planning. She was going to hand her over to Captain Bloodshot! No, she couldn't do that. Not just because her grandfather would lose his trident, but because that psychotic captain would resurrect Arquan.

That was when she realized it; Marina didn't know the full extent of Captain Bloodshot's plan. She didn't know about Arquan. That certain detail had not been released to the public, and had been kept to the war council room, so she wouldn't have heard about it, no matter how much gossip she had listened to.

She began struggling again, even harder than before. Marina scolded her some more and even hit her a few times. Eventually though, she ran out of energy again, and Marina resumed to drag her along once more. They continued this routine of struggle and drag, struggle and drag, but Melody knew she was only delaying the inevitable. Unless someone came along to help, she would eventually end up meeting the sinister Captain Bloodshot face to face.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Things on the Sea Arrow were not going so well. After Hemsworth had been thrown overboard, the captain had finally stopped drinking and sobered up. But now he was behaving rather irritable. Things had become rather complicated, and it seemed that his plans had to be put on hold. With the royal fleet after them, the Sea Arrow had to make sure to remain out of sight from any and all ships. Then there was also the fact that the sea king was undoubtedly ordering his people to stay away from any ships until further notice. Even fish and other marine life were avoiding them.

The captain slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. His plan had fallen to ruin, all because his first mate had to go and grow a conscience. Just how was he supposed to get his hands on the sea king's trident now? He had nothing to barter with. The only option left would be to go after Triton's human family. He'd toyed with the idea before, but that had just been wishful thinking. His entirely artillery was sea-based. True, he had his magic, but even with that, he couldn't very well storm the entire castle. With all the guards, he'd get shot down before he even made it to the front door.

Besides, he couldn't even set foot on land without being arrested. He had always been a wanted man, but he had never before had guards waiting at every port to arrest him the moment he got off his ship. His lookout in the crow's nest had reported seeing soldiers at every port and every dock they sailed close enough to see by telescope. It seemed that the only way they would be able to get to land would be to leave the country completely.

He kicked over his chair in a fit of rage and stormed over to the dark blue curtain on the other side of the room. Reaching up, he tore the entire curtain down. Behind it stood a statue with far greater detail than even the world's greatest sculptor could create. The captain stared at it for a long while before reaching up to stroke the cold hard cheek.

"So close," he muttered. "We were so close. Yer freedom was within me grasp, 'n' me goal was within sight. Curse that traitorous fool, Hemsworth. May the fish pick his bones clean."

That was a sight he wished he could behold; Hemsworth's waterlogged corpse resting on the ocean floor as the scavengers of the deep fed off him. The thought of it brought a feeling of satisfaction to him, but it did nothing to quell his temper. He wished Hemsworth were still alive so he could kill him again, this time much more painfully.

"If only me own magic were enough ta bring yeh back, then I would 'ave no need fer tha' blasted oversized fork." He sighed irritably. "If only yeh could speak, tell me wha' I could do. Me plan was ruined. I 'ave no leverage. How am I supposed ta get the trident now?"

An insistent knocking came at the door. The captain grumbled and reached down to pick up the curtain, throwing it over the statue as he limped over to the door. Yanking it open, he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the crewmember. "This best be important. I be in the mood fer spillin' blood."

Even with a gun pointed at him by the murderous captain, the crewmember didn't look concerned, but instead was grinning. "I have good news for yeh captain. There's been a mer sighting."

The hostility immediately left the captain's red eyes to be replaced with a look of interest. "Do yeh speak true?"

The crewman nodded. "Aye, sir. They be right by the ship."

The captain put his gun away and pushed passed the crewmember. "What be the crew doin'? Why 'ave yeh not caught it?"

The crewmember hurried after him. "There be no need, captain. She said she wants to see yeh."

The captain stopped. He gave the crewmember a curious look, receiving a nod in return. The captain merely raised an eyebrow and limped over to where a gathering of pirates were looking over the side. He pushed past them as he made his way to the side of the ship.

Looking down, he saw an ancient mermaid waving up at him. She was holding a rope. And whatever was at the other end of it was fighting against her, nearly dragging her back under.

"Greetings!" she called up to them. "I have come here for-" Whatever was at the other end of the rope pulled her under, but she came back up a moment later. "I have come here for an audience with Captain Bloodshot! Is he here?"

This was a most unexpected turn of events, but the captain was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. At the very least, he could capture this foolish mermaid and interrogate her like he did with the merboy. But for now, he would come across as simply willing to listen.

"Aye, I be Capt'n Bloodshot. Stay where yeh be, 'n' we'll speak."

Gathering up some magic from the surrounding gold, he created a geyser in the water that carefully lifted up the elderly mermaid as to not to scare her off. The mermaid gasped, but seemed to relax when she realized what was happening, and allowed the captain to lift her up towards his level.

As the mermaid rose up, whatever was at the end of the rope rose up with her. The captain didn't know what to expect, but he certainly didn't think it'd be the princess. He nearly dropped them both back into the water in shock, but managed to maintain control.

When the two mermaids were level with him, he looked to the old woman. "Wha' be this?"

The old mermaid smirked. "My name is Marina Del Rey, and I come bearing a gift for you, dear captain." She all but threw Melody onto the deck, looking very pleased with herself. "I hear you needed to get your hands on a member of the royal family. Well, allow me to present Princess Melody, daughter of Queen Ariel and Prince Eric, and granddaughter of King Triton. She's yours to do with what you will."

The captain looked down at Melody as she struggled against her bonds, then glanced at Marina curiously. "Tell me, Del Rey, why would yeh turn yer princess over ta us?"

Scowling, Marina threw Melody a dirty look. "She's not my princess. I refuse to acknowledge Triton or any of his family as royalty any longer, not after what they did to me." Melody shouted something at her through her gag, and Marina splashed her. "Shut up, you miserable brat!"

Now the captain's interest had increased. It seemed that this woman held a grudge against the royal family. He didn't care what it was; it worked out for him, but there had to be an ulterior motive. One didn't just betray the sea king for no reason. "'N' wha' would the lady want in return fer the little princess?"

Marina just crossed her arms and smirked. "Nothing. This is about revenge, nothing more. I want to get back at the royal family for letting me rot in prison for no reason, especially Triton and Ariel. But I'll have to flee after this, or risk going back to prison."

Ah, so she was a fugitive. She'd either done something really bad or was falsely accused. Now she wanted to get even, and she thought that giving him the princess would accomplish this. What an utter fool she was.

"Yeh 'ave risked much fer yer revenge, but I thank yeh all the same." He kneeled down beside Melody, grinning at her arrogantly. "Hello there, princess. I thought all hope be lost, but here yeh are. Welcome aboard the Sea Arrow, yer highness." He received a muffled reply from her, causing him to chuckle. "Somethin' ta say, princess? Let me help yeh."

He removed her gag, and Melody immediately tried to bite him. The captain pulled his hand back in surprise, but he didn't seem upset. "My, yeh be a feisty one."

Melody ignored him as she looked up at Marina. "You don't know what you've done! You don't know what he's planning!"

Marina looked as if she couldn't care less, and she said as much. "It doesn't matter what he has planned. You're his prisoner; he can do what he wants with you. Now you'll know how I felt when I was a prisoner for 20 years."

Melody seriously doubted Marina's time in prison was anything like how it would be in Captain Bloodshot's custody.

The captain chuckled. "She may not know wha' I be plannin' but she's right about one thing, yer mine ta do with as I choose."

Melody attempted to scoot away from him, but she was surrounded by the crew. She looked up at all the faces staring down at her, and saw that she would receive no help. Where was the man called Hemsworth that Alex had said helped him escape? Perhaps he could get her out of here.

Grabbing her hair, the captain pulled her closer. "They all be very happy ta see yeh, princess. Yeh be their key ta the riches o' Atlantica. Once the sea king trades his trident fer yeh, we'll all be rich."

Melody glared at him. "That's not what you're really after though. You want to bring _her_ back."

The captain couldn't hide his look of surprise. His fist clenched, causing his knuckles to crack. "Yeh be well informed, princess. No doubt that traitorous wretch, Hemsworth, told the merboy. He deserved his death a thousand times over."

Death? Someone was dead? He could only be referring to Alex or Hemsworth. Alex was alive and well, so he had to be talking about Hemworth. "You killed him? Your own man?"

"We don' tolerate traitors, princess. They don' belong on me ship, so we tossed him overboard, with an anchor strapped ta his back ta get him away from me ship all the faster."

Melody winced. How could he so nonchalantly talk about killing someone? It was as if he spoke of simply tossing some useless garbage overboard. But perhaps in the captain's deranged mind, that was simply what he did.

Putting on her bravest face, she stared the captain down. "Grandfather will stop you."

The captain laughed. "Foolish girl. He won' dare oppose me while I 'ave his precious granddaughter."

"Well he won't hand over the trident," she bluffed, knowing full well that her grandfather would indeed sacrifice the trident for any of his children or grandchildren. "He can't afford to, not even for his own flesh and blood. A king must put his duty before anything, even his own family. He can't allow his personal feelings to get involved."

The captain stood up. "Aye, yer right about that, princess. That be the burden the ruling monarch must carry. However, when someone they love be in danger, a person be ready ter sacrifice anythin' ta save 'em. I 'ave seen first hand wha' a man would do fer their family, no matter how much they didn' wish ta do it. Yer grandfather faced a terrible loss when his precious queen died."

Melody glared at him. "You mean when you killed her."

He went on as if there had been no interruption. "Already 'avin' suffered such a loss, he won' be able ta bear losin' another loved one. Forsakin' crown 'n' country be a small price ta pay ta get his darlin' granddaughter back."

At first, Marina had been listening to this exchange with interest, but eventually, all the gold covering the deck had caught her attention. Even after 20 years in prison, greed and vanity were two qualities that had never left her. She had planned on simply dropping the princess off and then getting as far away from Atlantica as she could, but now she was just itching to get her hands on some of that treasure. Surely, in his gratitude, the captain would be willing to hand over some of the gold.

"I don't mean to interrupt," she said, "but I really must be on my way before they discover the princess is missing. I know I said I expect nothing in return, but since I'm on the run, I could use a bit of gold to help me get by. Since I gave you the princess, perhaps you would be willing to part with a little-"

Not even bothering to look at her, the captain pulled out his pistol and pointed it right at Marina's face.

"Eh?"

It was the last word that Marina muttered. Having no knowledge of the human world, she didn't know what a gun was. Melody did, of course, but her cry of "NO" was lost over the sound of the gun being fired.

Marina's body fell backwards and splashed into the water, but the captain didn't show the least bit of concern. His attention was still focused on Melody, who looked as if she was going to be sick. She had never seen anyone die before, let alone being killed right in front of her. True, Undertow had broken his neck when he smashed into the ice wall where Morgana had her imprisoned, but she had been unconscious at the time and hadn't actually witnesses his death. Seeing Marina get shot was a horrific sight that she would never be able to erase from her memory.

The captain smirked at the horrified look of disgust on her face. "Don' feel too sorry fer her. The woman was ancient; she couldn' 'ave had too many years left."

Blinking back tears, Melody gave him the biggest look of revulsion she could muster. "Is that why you didn't eat her?"

The captain threw his head back and laughed. "Quite cheeky, aren' yeh? 'N' yeh should know that it be only the tails that I eat."

Melody glared at him. "Because of what you read in a book? Hans Christian Andersen is a fiction writer. Merfolk don't live to be 300, and you can't obtain our years by eating us."

The captain grinned. "Ah, yeh speak o' that short mermaid story he wrote. Aye, I 'ave read it. But yeh will find that even fantasy be based on fact. Fer example, did yeh know that his story _The Snow Queen_ be based on the events that took place in Norway when the queen o' Arendelle turned out ta be an ice witch that ended up freezing her entire kingdom." He waved this off. "But I don' base me beliefs on a simple children's story. I did long 'n' extensive knowledge on me quest fer immortality. I discovered the secrets written on the walls o' an ancient civilization that had long since died out. Much o' the writin' was rather difficult ta translate, 'n' a great deal was missin' or too hard ta make out, but the secret ta extendin' me life was there."

Melody stared at him in disbelief. Was this where he got his twisted delusional beliefs from? "And because of that you decided to eat the tails of merfolks? Because you think it will give you eternal life? That's crazy! It makes no sense! You even said so yourself, the writing was hard to translate, and a lot of it was missing. Didn't it ever occur to you that you made a mistake, or came to the wrong conclusion since so much information was missing? Eating our tails doesn't do anything."

The crew shifted uneasily. Contradicting the captain's beliefs was something none of them dared to do, less they face his wrath. The agitation was clear in the captain's stance as he clenched and unclenched his fists, looking as if he was holding himself back from strangling the princess.

"It does work!" he insisted. "It has ta work! I've come too far, done too much fer it not ta work."

"You're sick. You should be seeking help, not hunting merfolk. You have no right."

The anger was clearly building up in the captain, his eerie red eyes making Melody feel very nervous. "No right? No right? I 'ave every right! The only right we 'ave in this world be wha' we take fer ourselves!" He wrapped his large hand around Melody's throat. "Tell me, princess, when I was but a child, did the pirates 'ave the right ta kill off me entire family, 'n' sink our ship? Did the sharks 'ave the right ta devour the survivors right before me eyes as we helplessly drifted back ta shore? Did Fate itself 'ave the right ta leave me, a helpless traumatized boy ta fend fer meself in this cruel world with no one ta help me? Tell me, princess, who or wha' has the right ta dictate the fate o' anyone or anythin'? Perhaps yeh 'n' the rest o' yer royal bloodline? That be wha' royalty meant ta do; look after their people. Well where were they that day, or any day since? How about the late Mr. Hemsworth? Where were yeh when his family was sufferin', 'n' he was forced ta join me crew in order ta save 'em? Who has the right ta do anythin' ta anyone else? Yeh, tell me that!"

He aggressively pushed her away from him. "Nay, princess, the only right we 'ave is fer ourselves, 'n' ta hell with anyone else. I decided that day that I would never let anythin' control me fate again. The pirates took me family, 'n' left me fer dead, well now I be superior ta all other pirates. There not be any crew or capt'n that dare oppose me. I was left at the mercy o' the sea, forced ta pray that the sharks not decide ta devour me as they devoured the others around me, but now I sail the seas. I be the master over the entire ocean 'n' use it ta lead me around the world, 'n' I slay any sea creature I choose. Death had hung over me, capable o' takin' me life at any given moment in any given way the sea saw fit, but soon I will be the master o' death. I'll live on 'til the trumpet sounds upon judgment day 'n' all life on this miserable planet meet it's end. So don' yeh tell me wha' I do or don' 'ave the right ta do."

Melody was left speechless. The captain was madder than a certain tea obsessed hatter from a little girl's dream. He was beyond reason, and would not be swayed from anything. There was really no talking to him, but Melody knew that she had to try.

"It's still not going to work. No matter how much you wish it, no matter how much you believe it; it won't change the facts. You can eat the tails of every merfolk in the world, but it won't preserve your life any longer than it already is."

Her words seemed to calm the captain as he found amusement in them. "But o' course yeh would say that. Yer a mermaid, 'n' the merfolk be yer people. Obviously yeh wouldn' want me ta make me meal from 'em. But yeh shouldn' worry about 'em so much. Yeh should be more concerned fer yer own wellbein'."

At Melody's frightened look, he chuckled. "Oh, don' worry. I don' plan on eatin' yeh. As long as all goes well, yeh will not be harmed." He reached out and stroked her cheek, and it took all of Melody's willpower not to flinch away from him, less she come across as weak. "Still, it be such a shame ta waste such succulent flesh."

A wave of revulsion went through Melody. He could have been referring to eating her as well, but that comment almost sounded sexual. It made her wonder if he also took advantage of mermaids the way a man could take advantage of a human woman. She prayed this hadn't been the case. The captain truly was a vile man with no morals.

As she stared up at him, something caught her eye. It was poking out from beneath his hat, hidden among his messy brown hair. She knew what she was about to say would infuriate him, but at this point she would say or do almost anything just to get away from him.

"It seems that all your efforts at hunting merfolk has been for nothing if that gray hair is any indication."

A look of surprise crossed the captain's face. His hand went to his forehead, clawing at his hair. He stood up and grabbed a nearby crewmember. "She be lyin'. Tell me that she be lyin'!" He took the crewmember's hand and brought it to his head. "Take it! Take it now, I need ta see it!"

Hesitantly, the crewmember reached for the hair. There was a prick of pain as he plucked it out, and held it up to the captain. There it was, clear as day, a single gray hair that had been lost in the rest of it. Slowly, the captain took it, examining it closely. At first he didn't seem to believe what he was seeing, then he clenched it in his fist so tightly that his nails drew blood from his palms.

With a bellow of rage, the captain flew into a fit of fury. He began punching and kicking the side of the ship like a madman, screaming his rage for all to hear. The crew backed away, but Melody was left on the floor, forced to watch as the captain threw his tantrum.

Finally, when he exhausted himself, the captain rested against the railing, his grip on the railing so tight it nearly caused it to splinter. He was breathing heavily, but he seemed to have calmed down, or at least completely worn himself out.

She didn't want to say anything, but perhaps now, with proof of aging, she could get through to the mad captain. "There, you can see for yourself that your sick appetite doesn't work. So just give up this pointless crusade before it gets even more out of hand."

In response, the captain whirled around and backhanded her, knocking her to the deck. He was indeed calmer now, but there was an insane look in his eyes. "That be just a spider web thread. There be plenty o' webs on me ship. It must o' got stuck in me hair at some point. It was a nice attempt ta deceive me like that, princess, but it didn' work." He motioned to his men. "Take her below. We 'ave a meetin' with the sea king."

The crewmembers stepped forward and grabbed Melody. She struggled as they dragged her away, screaming all the while. The captain watched as they pulled her below deck before looking back at the 'spider web thread' in his hand. Holding it up, he released it, letting the wind carry it out of his hand and into the sea.

**(A/N: Rather dramatic. It seems the closer Captain Bloodshot gets to his goal, the more he slips into madness. I also feel somewhat sorry for Marina. Yes, I know she was a villain, but to so crudely shot down like that. Brutal. And now Melody is in the hands of that madman. We're more or less back to square one. Or maybe not. Captain Bloodshot's plans are back on track and have advanced even further than before. What's going to become of Melody now? Find out next time. Speaking of which, I'm going to be really busy this next week, so the next chapter may be a little late, but it will be up.)**

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	12. Chapter 12: The Message

**(A/N: Ok, a day late, that's not so bad. I was pretty swamped that I didn't have much writing time. Truthfully though, I'm a little disappointed with the first part of this chapter. It just didn't seem to, how should I say, flow like the rest of the story did. Maybe because I was in a rush to get it done. But you be the judge. By the way, I had someone compare Marina to Captain Bloodshot and how they both had a similar mindset where they couldn't see past their own wants and needs. While that may be true, I felt Marina was simply so self-centered that nothing else even registers to her, not even the right and wrong. With Captain Bloodshot, he just doesn't care about anything else beyond his own desires, and he has sunk so far into madness that he can't even see the truth when it's right in front of him. And now Melody is in his possession. He's that much closer to getting the trident and resurrecting Arquan. But lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. We've got a major Disney Easter Egg appearing in this chapter that I'm sure will give you all a laugh.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 12: The Message**

Melody struggled against her captors as they dragged her down the stairs. She didn't know where they were taking her, but she knew it wouldn't be good. Even though she knew it was useless, she fought against their hold.

"Let me go!" she shouted at them. "Where are you taking me?"

"Ta a li'l place especially prepared fer yer kind," the captain told her as he followed down the stairs. "Yeh didn' think yeh'd end up on the mast like the merboy, did yeh? Nay, he was put up there so he would talk. But there be no need ta get yeh ter talk. Yer grandfather will come ta us when he finds out we 'ave yeh."

She glared at him. "You're despicable! I still can't believe you left him up there the whole time."

He gave her a curious look. "That be an awful lot o' concern yeh be showin' fer the boy. Be there somethin' between the two o' yeh. We're yeh friends? Somethin' more perhaps? He said he simply knew o' yeh, but now I be thinkin' that he only said that 'cause he feared yeh might give yerself up ta me fer him." His eyes narrowed. "Or maybe even steal yer grandfather's trident fer him."

"Go to Hell."

He found her outburst amusing. "Yeh 'ave quite a mouth on yeh fer a princess. I would 'ave thought royalty be taught better manners."

She held her chin up high. "I'm considered the rebellious princess."

"Yeh don' say? Then yeh should fit in nicely with me 'n' me crew. We became pirates ta rebel against society 'n' all its annoyin' rules 'n' laws."

Licking her bleeding lip from when he struck her, she spat at him. "Don't compare me to the likes of you!"

The captain simply chuckled. "There be that high 'n' mighty attitude yeh royals 'ave. Thinkin' yer so much better than everyone else. I be lookin' forward ta seein' yeh fall from grace, princess." He nodded to his men. "Put her in."

One of the crewmembers opened a trapdoor. Looking down, Melody noticed that there were numerous trapdoors all over the floor. Inside the one that was open, she saw a built in cage. The cage was underwater, hanging from the bottom of the ship.

Melody was dropped into the cage, and she splashed into the water. It was big enough for a person, perhaps even built to hold one. And while she was under, she spotted several more of these cages hanging from the bottom of the ship. When she and the others had come here to rescue Alex before, she had been so focused on getting to him that she hadn't noticed them before.

She was still tied, and it made it difficult to swim, but she was able to poke her head up out of the water to see the pirates staring down at her with arrogant looks on their faces.

"What is this?" she demanded.

"This," said the captain, tapping his boot against the trapdoor, "be where we put merfolk we capture when we acquire more than one. It'd be such a waste ta kill 'em as soon as they're caught, so we kept 'em alive. Wouldn' want the food ta go bad."

Melody felt like she was going to be sick. He was saying that he stored merfolk in these cages like cattle until the time came for him to feed on them. She knew by now that there was no talking him out of his delusions, but perhaps she could still dissuade him. "Even if you're right, and you do end up living forever, it sounds like an awful lonely life. You'll continue to live on while you're friends and family die all around you."

If she thought this would get through to him, she was wrong. The captain merely shrugged. "We all makes sacrifices fer what we want, princess. Besides, the thing about us pirates be that we be changin' crew all the time. Once a pirate be gettin' what he needs, he goes elsewhere. When a captain loses a crewmember, he gets a new one. There be no attachments, not usually. So, yeh see, yer highness, I'll not be losin' anyone I be carin' about no matter how much time has gone by."

"You're completely insane."

The captain uncaringly stroked his beard. "Perhaps I am. Mad people don' know they be mad, or so they say." He motioned to two of his men. "The two of yeh, pick a cage 'n' get inta 'em. Yer takin' first watch. Keep an eye out fer any friends o' hers. If the sea king makes an appearance, yeh are ta report it ta me right away."

The two men looked reluctant, but after witnessing the captain's violent outburst up on deck, they knew that now was not the time to disobey his orders. They grudgingly opened different trapdoors and slid into the water. This had clearly been planned in advance, because they were both handed a reed from which they could breath through.

Melody looked at the two men, then up at the captain again. "I don't know what you're planning, but it's not going to work. No one in Atlantica even knows I'm here."

"Ah," said the captain as he circled around the trapdoor, "but that be part o' the reason why yeh were put in here, princess. Yer sure ta be seen by all manner o' fish 'n' other sea life. 'N' when it's reported ta the sea king that his precious granddaughter be my prisoner, he'll come." He lifted his foot and placed it on the top of her head, slowly pushing her under. "So if a fish happen ta be swimmin' by, be sure ta call fer help."

She struggled, attempting to remain above water. "No one will even come near the ship. Grandfather made it clear that everyone was to avoid any and all ships until you're dealt with."

The captain just grinned. "If that be the case, then yeh best call fer help extra loudly so they can hear yeh from here."

"You-"

He didn't catch what she said as he forced her under. One of the crewmembers then closed the trapdoor, and a lock was placed on it. Melody hit her head against the trapdoor, trying to get it open, but found she couldn't, and realized that they must have locked it.

There was just enough room for her to move around, and she tested the bars of the cage the best she could, hoping that maybe being in the water had caused them to rust and she could possibly get one loose. But the bars were securely in place, and didn't budge no matter how hard she slammed into them. Not even if her hands were free would she have been able to loosen one.

Looking around, she saw the two crewmembers in the other cages. They were watching the open ocean, using the reeds to breathe. One of them noticed her looking at him, and mockingly waved at her. She glared at him and turned away as she began to struggle out of her bonds once again.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Alex swam through the palace, searching for Melody. She hadn't shown up at where they had agreed to meet. He waited for quite a while, then went to find her. First he checked with her mother and grandfather, but neither of them had seen her. Then he checked with their friends. None of them knew where she was either. Sea-Sea and Tide were out on a date, so Alex hadn't been able to find them, but Flounder and his children elected to stay behind in case she came back. Sebastian was needed as an advisor for the sea king and had to stay behind, but Tip and Dash decided to accompany him to find their friend.

It was very typical of the penguin and the walrus. When they heard Alex was looking for Melody, Tip rubbed his flippers together and declared it to be a missing persons' case, one that only the great Titanic Tip and Daring Dash, adventures slash explorers could solve, then proceeded to narrate the events taking place.

Alex resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he wondered just what went through the minds of those two. They were certainly eccentric, but they were also good for a laugh and incredibly loyal, unless, of course, they became too frightened, then they would make a break for it.

When even her aunts and cousins said that they didn't know where Melody was, Alex began searching through the city. Yet no matter who he asked, no one had seen her. The Princess Melody was well known in Atlantica, so no one would be mistaking having seen her or not.

Perhaps she went up to the surface to see her father. If she did, he really wished she would have said something to someone. With Captain Bloodshot out there, it was dangerous to even go to the surface. Who knew what the deranged captain could do with his magic, even if she did stay away from his ship. That was the whole reason why the sea king had advised his people not to go near the surface for the time being.

But maybe that was why she had gone without telling anyone. She knew that she wouldn't be allowed to go, so she snuck away. Had today's plan to go exploring with him meant to be a diversion? That certainly didn't seem like her.

Swimming up to him, Tip crept around Alex, using him for cover. "The mighty explorers, Tip and Dash, along with their faithful sidekick, Alex, continue their search for their missing friend. With the evil pirate captain and his dastardly crew still at large, who knows what kinds of dangers could be lurking around every corner. Could their dear friend's disappearance be part of some sinister plot?"

Suddenly Dash climbed up onto Alex's back, looking down at his penguin friend. "You shouldn't talk about Melody like that. It's bad enough that she's missing, you don't have to make the situation worse by making up such horrible scenarios."

Even underwater, the weight of the walrus on his back was overwhelming. "I'm sure she just went off somewhere. And will you get off my back please!"

"Sorry," the walrus muttered, and swam off him.

"It's fine, and I'm sure Melody is perfectly all right too."

In truth though, he was rather worried about her. Tip may have been exaggerating the search, but he was right. No one was safe as long as Captain Bloodshot was out there. He hoped the mad captain would be dealt with quickly, then they could all live out their lives in peace.

"So, faithful sidekick," said Tip, "where to now?"

Alex looked up. "She may have gone to the surface to see her father."

Dash gasped. "But we're not allowed to go to the surface until those pirates are caught."

"Bah!" said Tip. "As if that would stop her. The kid's right; she probably just went to see her dad. Let's go, maybe we'll meet up with her along the way. Besides, restriction or not, you and I have to go up some time for air."

Dash looked reluctant. "Well… that's true. I guess if we're really careful. But if that pirate ship shows up, we're leaving."

Tip slapped him in a friendly manner. "That's the spirit. Titanic Tip and Daring Dash away! Come on, faithful sidekick."

Alex glared at them as they swam off. "Will you stop calling me sidekick!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Elsewhere, Alex, Tip, and Dash weren't the only ones disobeying the sea king's order not to go near the surface. A certain fish known as Blu was currently disobeying that order right now. Not on purpose though. He was a blue tang, and a condition of short-term memory loss ran in his family; at least he thought it did. And he just happened to have forgotten that certain order that the sea king made.

There were many reasons why fish gathered around boats; protection, food, shade, curiosity. As of right now, Blu had forgotten why he had come to this one, but he soon found himself swimming beneath the Sea Arrow.

Many years from now, a descendant of Blu would help a certain clownfish to find his lost son, but as Fate would have it, today was Blu's day to do something memorable. Swimming up to the bottom of the ship, he noticed two humans and a mermaid in cages hanging down. Curious as to what was going on, he swam up to the mermaid.

"Hi there, whatcha doing?"

Having given up on getting free from the rope for now, Melody had been resting against the bars with her eyes closed. Upon hearing someone talking, she opened them to see the small fish swimming in front of her face.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Hi, I'm Blu. Nice to meet you. What's you're name?"

Melody was rather surprised that the fish didn't know who she was. "I'm Melody."

Blu gave her a big smile. "Well, nice to meet you, Melody." He looked at the two pirates. "Um, what's up with them?"

Melody glanced at them. "They're pirates. They're the ones who locked me in here."

Blu frowned. "Boy, that's rough. Some humans can be pretty mean. By the way, I'm Blu."

Melody blinked. "Um, yeah, hi, Blu."

He held out a fin to her. "And you are?"

Was he playing with her? "I already told you, I'm Melody."

"Nice name. So, who are the two humans over there."

Now Melody was beginning to get irritated. "Are you making fun of me?"

The little fish seemed genuinely surprised. "Of course not. I don't even know who you are."

"Melody, granddaughter of King Triton."

He smiled again. "Oh, wow, that's cool. Well, Melody, I'm Blu. Um, is there any particular reason why you're in this cage?"

She sighed in aggravation. "I told you, those pirates over there locked me up. And why do you keep saying the same things over and over again."

Blu's eyes widened. "I am? Oops, sorry. I don't mean to. You see, I suffer from short-term memory loss."

Several seconds of silence passed as the two just stared at each other. "Suffer from what?"

"Short-term memory loss. It runs in my family… I think." He noticed the pirates again. "So, what's up with those humans?"

"Blu!"

The fish jumped. "Huh? What?"

"Blu, listen, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Can you do me a favor?"

He smiled. "Oh, sure, I'd be happy to. Um, what was you're name again?"

Melody closed her eyes, praying for patience. Right now, this forgetful fish was her only hope. She would need to be careful with how she handled this. "It's Melody. Now listen, do you know where the palace is?"

The fish nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, sure. That's something I'll never forget."

She sighed in relief. At least that wouldn't be a problem. "Ok, I need you to go to the palace and give this message. 'The pirates have Melody'. Can you do that for me?"

It didn't matter who he gave the message to. Anyone who received it would take the message directly to her grandfather. If this little fish even remembered what the message was.

Blissfully ignorant to the seriousness of the situation, Blu happily nodded. "No problem. Just leave it to me."

Hesitantly, she glanced at the pirates again. She knew what telling her grandfather of her imprisonment meant. They'd be playing right into Captain Bloodshot's hands. But her only other option would be to rot in this cage. Besides, he would find out eventually at some point, even if Blu didn't deliver the message. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. She would just have to place her faith in her grandfather.

"Ok, go now. And the whole way, keep saying to yourself 'go to palace, tell someone the pirates have Melody' over and over again. Ok?"

Blu saluted her. "You can count on me." With that, he swam off. "Go to palace, tell someone the pirates have Melody. Go to palace, tell someone the pirates have Melody. Go to palace, tell someone the pirates have Melody. Go to palace, tell someone the pirates have Melody."

She watched as he disappeared into the open ocean. There was nothing left for it now. Either her grandfather would get the message, or he wouldn't. One way or another, it was out of her hands.

She looked at the pirates. They were both watching her. She knew they couldn't understand what Blu said, and probably couldn't make out what she told him underwater, but they seemed to get the jest of it. Yet they did nothing to stop her; it was what they wanted after all.

Hoping she didn't just make a huge mistake, Melody leaned back against the bars and closed her eyes again. The only thing she could do now was wait. But as Blu swam away, she failed to notice that he was heading in the opposite direction of Atlantica.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Dorian was upset. When his father had told him that he needed help on the ship, he had only meant until they were ready to set sail. He had neglected to mention that he would not be going out to sea with him. Now that his father was gone, he had found himself left behind in the care of Carlotta.

So here he was, down at the beach with nothing to do but look out at the open ocean and wonder what was going on. Up on the dock, Carlotta and several guards were watching him, ready to react at the first sign of danger. If the Sea Arrow was spotted, they were to bring Dorian inside immediately.

Truthfully, they didn't even want Dorian to be outside at all with the pirate threat, but the young prince had argued that they couldn't appear weak to the people by cowering in fear in the castle. Besides, the pirates were out at sea, and he still had his guards to protect him. So he was allowed to stay by the shore just outside of the castle, provided he had people to watch over him.

Picking up a shell, he skipped it out across the ocean until a wave swallowed it up. It just wasn't fair. He wanted to help. So what if he was only four years old. He was very mature for his age, or so he said. In fact, if it weren't beneath him, he would be down on the ground throwing a tantrum right about now. But that wasn't something a prince did.

Instead, he vented his frustration by kicking the sand. His father could have at least taken him on the ship, even if he didn't actually get to help out with fighting the pirates. How dangers could they possibly be? His father had the entire royal fleet to help him. Was it the magic that the captain was rumored to possess? Well, whatever power he had, it was surely no match for his grandfather's trident. So he was sure to be safe. His parents were just being overprotective.

At least it wasn't as bad as his sister had had it. From what he was told, she had been literally walled off from the entire world because of the threat of a sea witch. Dorian wished he could meet that wicked woman face-to-face; he'd show her who was boss. No silly octopus woman would get the better of him. He was brave and chivalrous. And one day he would be a wise and mighty king that would bring peace and prosperity to his kingdom, just as his parents and grandfather did. Yes, his reign would be the golden age for the kingdom of Denmark.

He did wonder why his sister didn't want to be queen. She had told him before that she planned to abdicate the throne and pass the crown onto him. That was a secret though, and he wasn't supposed to tell their parents; she said that she wanted to tell them when she was ready, whenever that would be.

Looking down at the water, he stuck his toes into it. The ocean was nice, he could agree with that, but he didn't love it enough to give up becoming human like his sister wanted. He still couldn't figure it out, but to each their own.

She was out there right now, probably spending time with Alex and the rest of their friends. Dorian had been relieved when he found out that the blonde merboy had been rescued. He really liked and admired Alex, and he was glad that he made his sister so happy. He just wished they wouldn't get all mushy around each other all the time; it made him feel sick. And his parents were the same way, always being so lovey-dovey. He was told he would feel differently about it when he grew up, that all little boys felt the way he did at his age, but he doubted it. All that kissing and stuff was yucky.

As he shuffled along the shore, letting the waves wash over his bare feet, a small voice cried out from further out. "Go to… someone the… Melody… to palace… tell some… pirates have…"

Looking to where the voice was coming from, he spotted a small blue fish jumping in and out of the water. He only caught what the fish was saying when it jumped out, but he clearly heard his sister's name in there somewhere.

"Melody?" he repeated, and began heading into the water.

From up on the dock, Carlotta called down to him. "Prince Dorian, you are to stay on the shore!"

"I am!" Dorian called back to her. "I'm just saying hi to a fish!"

He wasn't sure if they would believe him. There were still those that doubted both his and his sister's ability to talk to marine life, thinking that mere animals couldn't possible think or communicate like humans and merfolk could. And even among those that did believe it, there were those that doubted that he shared such an ability since he seemed less mer than his mother and sister.

But they were wrong. He could understand them just fine. Just because he preferred the company to other humans and liked spending more time on land than in the sea didn't mean he was any less mer. And right now, he was going to talk to this fish that seemed to be screaming the same thing over and over again. Something about his sister, the pirates, and the palace.

"To palace…" the fish cried again, leaping out of the water, "someone… the pirates… Melody…"

When Dorian reached him, he scooped the fish up. "I can't understand you. Stay above water."

"Go to palace," Blu told him, "tell someone the pirates have Melody."

Dorian blinked. "What?"

"That's the message," said Blu. "I was told to come to the palace and say that. 'Go to palace, tell someone the pirates have Melody'. So that's what I did."

Dorian stared at him for a few moments, wondering how serious to take this message. "Who told you this?"

Blu opened his mouth to tell him, then closed it again, looking confused. "I don't remember. Hmm, who was it again?"

Scowling, Dorian lowered him back into the water. "That's not funny. You shouldn't play jokes like that."

Blu waved his fins. "Oh no, it's not a joke. That girl told me to say that." He gasped. "Yeah, that's it, it was a girl. She told me to keep saying that over and over until I delivered the message. Um, what was the message again?" He gave Dorian an apologetic look. "Sorry, I have short-term memory loss."

Short-term memory loss? Was something a person with short-term memory loss reliable? "Why did you come here to deliver the message?"

Blu blinked. "What message? Oh, the message. 'Go to palace, tell someone the pirates have Melody'. That's the message."

"No, I mean why didn't you go to Atlantica?"

The fish's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah, that's a palace too. See, I was just swimming, and then I saw this palace rom underwater, and since I was saying… uh, what was I saying?"

Dorian stood up. He wasn't going to get anything more from the fish. "That's fine, you can go."

"Oh, ok, bye then. I gotta go deliver a message anyway."

With that, he dove back under; trying to remember the message he was supposed to be delivering.

Dorian frowned, thinking about this. If what the fish said was true, then the pirates had his sister. How in the world did they get ahold of her if she was in Atlantica? It was too bad the fish couldn't tell him. Of all the messengers she could have sent, his sister had to choose one that couldn't remember anything.

Turning around, he made his way back to shore. If his sister was really in trouble, then he had to do something. At the very least, he had to send word to his father. One of the staff would have to go out after him to deliver the message. Pirates or no pirates, no one messed with his family.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"So you haven't seen her?" Alec asked.

Eric shook his head. "Not recently. I thought she and her mother were staying in Atlantica so there was no chance of Bloodshot getting hold of them."

Alex nodded. "That was the plan, but since I couldn't find her anywhere, I thought she may have come up to see you."

Eric shook his head again. "No, she hasn't been here. Are you sure you checked everywhere?"

Alex noted the concern in his voice. He hadn't come here to worry her father, just to find out if Melody had been here. Maybe she was still trying to find his ship. The royal fleet was spread out all over the place. From underwater, there was no way to tell which ship was which. Even Alex had gone to four different ship's before he found the flagship. Perhaps Melody was still checking the other ships, looking for her father's.

"Hey, Alex!" Dash called up to him from down in the water. "You don't think she accidentally ran into the pirate ship while looking for her father's and got caught, do you?"

Alex felt a stab of fear. That had been a concern of his that he had hidden in the back of his mind. He didn't even want to think of Melody ending up in Bloodshot's hands as a possibility.

No, that couldn't be the case. Even if she couldn't see the whole ship from underwater, the Sea Arrow was distinguishable from the ships belonging to the royal fleet. Besides, Melody wasn't foolish. Even if she did mix up the Sea Arrow for one of the royal fleet, she wouldn't surface close enough to it to get caught.

"Don't worry about that!" he called down to the walrus.

Eric glanced down at Tip and Dash. "Don't worry about what? What did he say?"

Not wanting to worry him further, Alex quickly lied. "It's nothing. He was just suggesting some more places she could be. I just thought she might be her, so we came to check. We may have even just missed each other." He bowed his head. "Please don't worry, King Eric. I'm sure she's perfectly fine. I'll be sure to inform you the moment she's found."

Some of the tension left Eric's body. "I would greatly appreciate that. And please tell her not to go off on her own. We don't know what Bloodshot is capable of. Who knows what he can do with that magic of his."

Alex nodded. "Yes, you're majesty. I will take my leave. Good luck on you're search for the Sea Arrow."

Leaning back, he let himself fall free from the robe he had wrapped around himself so he could be hoisted up. He splashed back into the water, and Tip and Dash swam over to him.

"So they haven't seen her either?" Dash asked.

Alex shook his head. "No, but I promised to let him know as soon as she was found."

Tip was swimming around anxiously. "Ok, ok, perhaps we missed something. We'll just go retrace our steps. Maybe someone saw her at one of the places we already checked since we've been there."

They could do that, but there were still more places they could look. It was all a matter of how far away from Atlantica Melody had gone. She had told him of her mother's countless adventures, and his parents had told him of theirs as well. Perhaps Melody had gone to one of those locations. But he still couldn't figure out why she wouldn't have told anyone where she was going. That just wasn't like her.

Maybe she had gone to see the Olympian merfolk in an attempt to gain more support to fight the pirates. As far as he knew, the sea king hadn't asked them to fight with him yet. Melody's involvement with the war council had been limited to what she had been told after the meetings. Perhaps she had wanted to contribute to the cause and show that she could be useful, so she took up the task to gain more allies on her own. Now _that_ sounded like something Melody would do.

"You know where we haven't checked," said Dash. "Her home. Maybe she went to visit her brother."

Her brother? Of course, Dorian! Melody had expressed concern over her brother. She was worried that the pirates might go after him. Alex thought he had eased her worries about that, but perhaps she had needed to see for herself that he was all right.

Smiling, Alex patted the walrus on his back. "Dash, you're a genius. We were so focused on looking in places under the sea that we didn't even think of looking somewhere on land."

Tip scratched his head. "I don't get it."

"She was worried about Dorian earlier. She probably went to make sure he was still safe. Come on lets go."

As Alex swam off, Dash gave Tip a mocking grin. "I'm a genius."

The penguin just waved it off. "Pshh! Lucky guess."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Let me out!" Dorian shouted as kicked the door. "I'm the crown prince! You can't keep me locked in my room like this!"

He knew he would get no answer. None of the guards outside his door had said anything since Carlotta had put him in here about half an hour ago. She said it was for his own safety, and since she was charged with his protection, she would do whatever it took to keep him safe.

Ok, so maybe he hadn't handled the news the forgetful fish had told him that well, but no one would believe him when he said that the pirates had his sister. They assured him that both his sister and mother were safe in Atlantica. Dorian had argued back, telling him what the little blue fish had said, but it seemed they didn't believe him.

Dorian tried to look at things from their point of view. He had been fuming for days about being left behind, and then, out of nowhere, he claimed that a fish with short-term memory loss had told him that his sister was caught by the pirates. Even to him, sounded like something a child would make up just to get his way. Besides, if anything had happened to Melody or his mother, a merperson would have come and informed them, not a fish that only he would be able to understand, let alone one with short-term memory loss. And how would the pirates have managed to capture his sister anyway while she was in Atlantica?

Dorian didn't have answers, and his story had too many holes in it for anyone to take him seriously. Even though he was a prince, to them, he was just a child upset about being left behind, and was now trying to get attention or involve himself in some way.

That's when he had made the mistake that had landed him in his room with the door locked. When nobody took what he said seriously, he had decided to take matters into his own hands. After sneaking away from Carlotta and the guards, he had rushed down to the beach and tried to head out on a rowboat. Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten far before he was found, and had to be brought kicking and screaming back to shore.

That was when Carlotta had placed him in his room. She told him that if he was going to pull reckless and dangerous stunts like that, he would just have to remain here until his parents could deal with him.

Grumbling, Dorian made his way over to the window and rested his head against it, looking out at the ocean. He didn't know how long he sat there, but he eventually saw the unmistakable form of a merperson by the dock. And not just any merperson, it was Alex, and he had Tip and Dash with him.

Doran's face lit up and he ran out onto his balcony. "Alex!"

The blonde merboy looked up. It took him a few moments, but he eventually spotted the little prince and waved up at him. "Hey, Dorian! I'm looking for Melody! Did she stop by here?"

Unfortunately, Dorian's room was too far away, and from this distance, he barely heard what Alex said. He could tell that he said something, but couldn't make out what it was. But what was important now was telling him what the fish had said. "Alex, Melody's in trouble!"

But Alex was unable to make out what Dorian said either. "What?"

He received the same response, but still couldn't hear. Apparently, his two companions couldn't either.

"I didn't catch any of that," said Tip. "Did you?"

"No," Dash replied, "he's too far away."

Alex cupped his hands together. "We can't hear you!"

Dorian groaned irritably when he couldn't make out what Alex said either. He'd never be able to tell him about Melody from way up here. "Stay there! I'll be right down!"

To try and get his point across, he motioned for Alex to remain where he was. Then he rushed across the room and over to his door again and began banging on it.

"You have to let me out now! Alex is here, and I need to tell him about Melody! Open up! That's an order!"

But prince or not, his cries went by unheeded. Anyone outside the door either thought he was still making up stories, or was given specific instructions for him not to be let out under any circumstances.

After about a minute of banging and yelling, he finally gave up. Not on getting down to Alex, but on getting out the door. He would get down there another way. He'd heard stories from the neighboring kingdom of Corona where the princess had once had such long hair that she could use it as a rope for people to climb up and down the tower she was imprisoned in. Well, he didn't have hair that long, nor did he have any rope, but he could improvise.

Pulling his sheets and blankets off the bed and ripping his curtains off the window, he tied the ends together. Taking them out to his balcony, he tied off one end and threw the rest over the side.

Down in the water, Alex and the others had been waiting for the young prince to come out the door. But Dash noticed out of the corner of his eye the sheets that Dorian had thrown over the side.

"Hey, guys, what's that?"

Both Alex and Tip looked up to Dorian's balcony, just in time to see him climb up and stretch one leg over the top.

Tip's mouth dropped open. "He's not really going to…"

But he was. Dorian had begun climbing down the sheets. It was in no way long enough to reach the ground, but it reached far enough for him to be able to get to the window further down.

"What are you doing?" Alex shouted, horrified that the boy might fall.

Just as Dorian got passed his balcony, he realized that this wasn't such a good idea. He was good at climbing trees, but this was very difficult. What he thought would be a simple climb was turning into a life-threatening crisis. Apparently, climbing up and down a rope quickly drained a person of their strength. His grip was slipping, and he didn't think he'd be able to go down any further or go back up without falling.

Alex realized Dorian was in trouble, and he slapped Dash on the back. "Go!"

Dash looked at Alex, then back at Dorian, then at Alex again. He realized what he meant, and immediately headed for shore and began crawling across the beach as fast as he could.

Dorian was losing his grip. He couldn't get to the window below him, or back up to the balcony above him. All he could do was cling to the sheets for as long as he could until his strength gave out, and it seemed that that wouldn't be long.

Back in the water, Alex and Tip watched anxiously as Dash raced over to the castle. "Go," the former muttered, "go, go!"

"Come on!" Tip shouted. "Move that blubber butt!"

Dash didn't need any egging on as he moved as fast as he could. Up above, Dorian's grip had finally slipped, and he fell screaming to the ground. Dash lunged, twirling in the air as he did so to land on his back. He skidded across the ground, receiving a nasty brush-burn on his backside in the process, but he didn't even notice. The wind was suddenly knocked out of him as Dorian landed on his bloated belly.

A few seconds passed before Dorian dared to open his eyes. Looking around, he realized he was still alive, and had landed on something very squishy. He turned to the walrus' head and, with tears in his eyes, hugged his friend.

"Dash!" he cried. "You saved my life!"

The walrus gave him a painful smile. "Guess my blubber proved useful." He shook his head. "Wait, what am I saying? Dorian, what do you thinking you were doing? You could have gotten killed."

With the threat of death gone, the whole reason he had pulled such a risky stunt came back to him. "Oh, right. I'll explain later. I have to tell Alex something."

Climbing off the walrus, he rushed over to the water, screaming Alex's name. The merboy crawled onto shore, a furious look on his face as his fear gave way to anger. "You fool! What were you doing? Do you have a death wish? What would have happened if we hadn't been here?"

Dorian was caught off guard by Alex's screaming. He had never seen Alex like this before. If he was that upset over what had just happened, then there was no telling how furious his parents and sister would be when they heard about this.

But there were more important things to worry about right now, so Dorian put on his most authoritative face. "I had my reason! I was confined to my room, but needed to tell you something at all costs!"

This time it was Alex that was surprised, having never seen the young prince talk in such a way. If it was important enough for him to risk his life like that, then he had better hear him out. "Fine, what do you need to tell me."

"It's Melody! She's been caught by the pirates!"

A feeling similar to having been punched in the stomach hit Alex. Those words, he never wanted to hear those words. They were his greatest fear, and now they were being said to him.

He struggled to find his voice. "What… do you… mean?"

Dorian nodded. "That's what the fish told me. I was walking by the beach, and a fish told me that Melody was caught by the pirates. I think she sent him to get help after she was caught."

Alex's heart was racing. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Dorian cried. "I don't know the details, but I think he was telling me the truth! But no one would believe me! They thought I was making it up for attention!"

It just couldn't be. Melody was in the hands of that madman? The possibility that Dorian was indeed making this up never even occurred to him. Nor did he question why the fish that had delivered the message come here instead of going to Atlantica. Only one thing was prominent in his mind. If Bloodshot had Melody, he had to get her back, no matter what.

As Dash crawled back over to them, Alex motioned to him and their penguin friend. "Tip, you and Dash go back to Atlantica. Tell the sea king that the pirates have Melody, and hurry."

Tip saluted him. "You can count on us."

"You certainly can," said Dash.

As the two swam off, Alex turned to Dorian. "Thank you for telling me this, but you have to promise to never do anything dangerous like that again. Promise?"

Dorian traced an X over his chest. "Cross my heart. You have my word as a prince."

Alex nodded. "Good, now hurry and go back inside. We don't want the pirates to get you too."

As he crawled back into the water, Dorian called out to him. "Wait, what are you going to do?"

Alex glanced back at him before he submerged. "I'm going to get your sister back."

**(A/N: Ta-da, Dorian played an important role. I wanted him to have a bigger role, but could never think of what to do with him. But thanks to the constant support for his character by Karts of Sugar Rush, I eventually got this idea of how to make him a more prominent character. So thanks again Karts of Sugar Rush. And I'm sure it was plainly obvious Easter Egg in this chapter. Actually, there were two, but one played a more important role. Not sure how many more I can use though. We're leading up to the big climax. The story's already longer than I thought it would be. Lets see how long we can keep it going.)**

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	13. Chapter 13: Ransom

**(A/N: Glad everyone had a laugh about last chapter's Easter Egg. By the way, Draskar, you had a good theory about Atlantis being the ancient civilization where Captain Bloodshot got his wild theories from. I thought of having it be that, but decided that, since the civilization was a dark one that followed the occult, it didn't fit in with the Atlantian society, so no, it wasn't supposed to be them. So, moving on, there's going to be another hostage ransom situation coming up. And this time, Hemsworth isn't around to give the merfolk an advantage. But maybe it won't even come to that. Maybe Melody will get away before that will even happen. Lets just wait and see.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 13: Ransom**

This was getting her nowhere fast. She had been struggling to get free from these bonds for hours now, but they were securely tied. Not for the first time, she wondered where such an elderly mermaid that had been in prison for the past 20 years had even learned how to tie knots like this so well.

Releasing a frustrated groan, she thrashed about in her cage, trying to pull her hands and tail loose. The only thing this managed to accomplish was to hurt her tied up limbs even more. Those rotten pirates, if they were simply going to stick her in this cage, then they could have at least cut off the ropes; it wasn't like she could go anywhere anyway.

Maybe they didn't want to take even the slightest chance that she would escape, or maybe they just didn't care enough to bother to untie her, or perhaps that sadistic captain of theirs simply got off at watching her suffer; she certainly wouldn't put it past him.

Once more, she wondered what had driven the captain to become the way he was. Who wanted to be referred to as 'Bloodshot' anyway? It was such an unappealing title. The man was clearly crazy, and from the way he ranted at her back up on deck, it sounded that something truly traumatic had happened to him in his childhood. Whether the incident was the cause for his madness, or the catalyst that eventually led him down the path to madness, she didn't know. She wasn't even sure if there was any help for someone like him, or if he was too far gone to ever become sane. But from the looks of it, even if there were help for him, he wouldn't want it. Quite the contrary, he seemed to relish in his insanity.

She glanced at the two pirates in the other cages. They had long since begun ignoring her struggles as they kept watch. These weren't even the same ones that had got in the water with her when she was first dumped in this cage; they had begun switching out every so often. From what she could estimate time wise, they had beentaking half an hour shifts, after which two new crewmembers would come to relieve them of their duty and take over the position of lookout.

Sighing, she rested against the bars, taking a break from her struggles. She wondered if Blu had managed to deliver her message, or if he had forgotten. If he kept repeating to himself what she told him to say, he should have remembered it since he was constantly saying the message over and over again. Yet it had been hours since he had swam off. Surely someone would have come for her by now if they had heard the message.

Maybe her grandfather was still assembling the masses and preparing to strike. Never having been in a war before, she didn't know how long it took for an army to get ready for battle. The kingdom of Denmark had been relatively peaceful all her life, not counting the incident with Morgana.

She put such dark thoughts of war aside as she focused on happier times. She thought back over the past few days with Alex. Even with the threat of Arquan and the pirates hanging over them, those had been some of the most joyful days of her life. If they were any indication of what the future held, then she knew without doubt that she would be having one of those famous happily ever afters that she always read about in books. She loved Alex, she loved being a mermaid, and she loved the ocean; to have either of those things in her life was a cause for happiness, but to have all three was a dream come true. That future was in her grasp, and she wanted to have that dream fulfilled more than anything.

Poor Alex. She wondered if he was worried about her. The two of them had planned to meet several hours ago. Was he looking for her? Probably. Knowing him, when she didn't show up, he would check with her friends and family first before thinking that she had decided to explore the city on her own for awhile and had simply lost track of time. But once he checked around and found out that no one had seen her, he was sure to worry.

How had Marina managed to sneak her out of Atlantica without anyone seeing her anyway? For that matter, how had she managed to escape from her cell in the first place? The dungeons hadn't been high on her list of places to see, so she didn't know what they were like, but she doubted that the palace dungeons were an easy place to escape from, especially for someone so old. Her mother had told her that those cells held rather notorious criminals such as Lobster Mobster, Da Shrimp, Ebb, Flo, Emperor Sharga, the leader of the Octopids, Glowfish, Moray, and even Cloak and Dagger. With such hardened villains imprisoned, there was sure to be high security, yet the elderly mermaid had somehow managed get out. But Marina was in no position to tell anyone how she had managed to escape, or how she snuck out of Atlantica undetected.

She couldn't worry about that now. She had to focus on her own escape. If Bloodshot got his way, they were all doomed. Not only would Arquan be resurrected, but her grandfather would no longer have the trident to keep her at bay. She would run amuck, and destroy everything. Countless lives would be lost.

Melody certainly didn't want to see that evil mermaid unleashed upon the world. Just like Bloodshot, she wondered how anyone could possibly end up like her anyway. There was indeed evil in the world, Melody knew that, but she couldn't understand it. Could the things that wicked people like Arquan desired really make them happy? She could understand certain ambitions, greed, wealth, revenge, she could even understand Bloodshot, as psychotic as he was, and his desire for eternal life. But from what she had heard of Arquan, the woman was a relentless force of destruction that took pleasure in causing pain and taking the lives of others. How could anyone possible ever find joy in such cruel things?

She decided not to dwell on it anymore. There were just some things people didn't understand about others. Just like none of her mer family could understand her mother's desire to live on land, just like none of her human family or friends could understand her own desire to live in the sea.

She still intended to see that happen. She wasn't going to let a band of pirates, a deranged captain, and an evil mermaid stand in her way of happiness. She would do whatever it took to make sure she either escape or was rescued, and then the threat of Arquan and the pirates would be dealt with. At least that's what she hoped for. And once the danger was over, she ad Alex could begin their lives together.

"Melody!"

She could already hear his voice calling for her. She needed to stop thinking about him and focus on escaping. If only she could untie herself, then maybe she could get the jump on whichever crewmember opened the trapdoor above her when the time came.

"Melody!"

Now it really did sound like he was close by. He sounded worried and afraid. Was she imagining how terrified he would be when he discovered that the pirates held her captive?

"Melody, I'm here!"

Ok, that was definitely not her imagination. Whirling around, her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw the blonde merboy swim up to her cage.

"Alex!" she cried, pressing herself against the bars.

He reached her cage, sticking his hands through the bars to cup her cheeks. "Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you? What did they do to you?"

The joy of seeing him was overwhelmed by the seriousness of the situation. "Nothing, they just stuck me in here."

She decided not to mention that Bloodshot had struck her. It wouldn't do to have Alex getting distracted by his anger. They both needed to keep their wits about them if they were going to make it out f this alive.

Tuning around, she presented her tied hands and tail to him. "Quick, hurry up and untie me. Those two over there are supposed to be keeping watch and telling the captain once anyone comes."

Alex looked to the two pirates that were scrabbling to get out of their cages. He paid them no further mind as he began working on untying the ropes. "Don't worry, I'll have you out of here in a second. How'd they catch you anyway?"

"It's a long story," she replied, not wanting to get into everything that happened with Marina right now. "I'll tell you later. Where's everyone else?"

Alex struggled to undo the sloppy yet complete mess of knots. "They'll be here soon. I sent Tip and Dash to tell your grandfather that the pirates had you a while ago while I came on ahead; it just took me some time to find the ship."

That was good to know. Melody hoped the cavalry got here soon. "How'd you find out they had me? Did Blu tell you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Blu, the fish with the short-term memory loss. I sent him to the palace for help."

Alex actually stopped untying the rope and stared at her. "You sent a fish with short-term memory loss for help?"

She glared at him over her shoulder. "My options were kind of limited."

He supposed that was true and went back to untying the knots. "Sorry. But it seems your fish friend went to the wrong palace, because it was your brother that told me."

"Dorian?" she asked in surprise.

He nodded. "Yeah, he said a fish told him the pirates had you. Apparently, everyone in the palace thought he was just making up stories so he could get attention, so they put him in his room. The kid actually climbed down from his balcony using his bed sheets and curtains as rope."

"He did what?" Melody cried, whirling around. "But that's such a long way down! How could he do something so stupid and reckless? He didn't fall, did he? Tell me he's alright!"

Alex hesitated. "Well, he did fall, but he landed on Dash's belly. Don't worry, he's fine. Now turn around, I think the knots are starting to come loose."

Calming down, Melody turned around. If Dash had acted as Dorian's cushion, then he was ok. She herself had fallen off Morgana's ice tower, also landing on Dash's stomach, and she had been bigger than her brother was.

"Stupid knot," Alex grumbled irritably, "come on already!"

Melody bit her lip anxiously. "Please hurry. Bloodshot probably knows you're here by now."

It turned out she was right. At that moment, one of the men that had been in one of the cages burst into the captain's quarters. "Captain, sir, a mer has appeared to help the princess."

Sitting at his desk, the captain slowly looked up at the crewmember with an arrogant grin on his face. "Splendid. Now things can be gettin' underway."

His attention shifted to the door where, just outside, the other crewmember stood dripping water on the deck.

A frown crossed the captain's face. "Where be the girl?"

The crewmember frown. "She's still in the cage, of course."

The captain's fist slammed down on the desk. "Yeh darn fool!" he bellowed, jumping to his feet. "It only takes one o' yeh ta report ta me that the merfolk 'ave come. The other was ter prevent them from rescuin' the princess. If the girl be gone, the two o' yeh will be swimmin' with the sharks."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Got it!" Alex declared, finally getting the last knot undone.

The rope fell away, and Melody stretched her limbs and rubbed her wrists. It felt so good to be free of those cursed bindings, but she was still stuck in this cage, and there was nothing either of them could do about that.

Alex thought otherwise. "Here, help me with these bars. Lets see if we can get one loose."

As he grabbed a bar and began pulling, Melody placed her hands over his. "It's no use. I tried for hours. They're built to hold merpeople."

"Built to hold merpeople?" he repeated, looking around at the other cages. "What are you talking about? What's with all these things?"

Melody shivered as she recalled what the captain had told her. "He keeps the merpeople he captures in these when he catches more than one. Our tails are about half our body, so each one is probably a few days worth of food to him. He didn't want to let his meals go bad and lose a fresh food source by killing them right away."

Alex looked as if he was going to be sick. "Don't worry, your grandfather will come and put an end to all this madness once and for all."

Melody didn't look so sure. "I hope so, but things didn't go so well last time. And your friend, Hemsworth, isn't here this time to help me get away."

He gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Melody closed her eyes for a few moments. "I'm sorry, Alex, but he's dead. Bloodshot somehow found out that he helped you, and he killed him for it."

A haunted look crossed Alex's face. Poor Hemsworth, he had gone through so much, sacrificed so much, even become a despicable person, all for the sake of his family. He didn't deserve to die, not here, not by that crazy captain's hands.

"That son of a sea slug. He won't get away with this. He'll pay for each and every person he's harmed. I swear he'll pay."

Melody didn't want to think about anymore disturbing thoughts. She had a terrible sense of foreboding. There was a storm coming. Not a literal one, but the beginning of something truly horrible. But at the same time, she was eternally grateful that it was Alex of all people who was with her right now.

She reached for him through the bars, needed the physical contact. "Kiss me, Alex. I'm so afraid something horrible is going to happen to one of us. I need you to kiss me now."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "You don't have to be afraid. Nothing bad is going to happen to us, I won't let it."

She gripped the bars of the cage tightly. "You don't know that, Alex, and you might not be able to prevent it. Please, I need you to kiss me one more time, like it's the last time, just in case it is."

Alex moved closer, looking into her eyes with a silent promise. Placing one hand over one of hers, his other one went through the bars to stroke her cheek. "This won't be the last time; I'll make sure of it."

He leaned in to kiss her, and she moved forward to meet his lips with hers. Just before they touched, a hand dropped down from up above, the trapdoor having been opened without either of them noticing. The hand grabbed a fistful of Melody's hair and yanked her up and away from Alex. She screamed in pain as she was dragged above water and pulled out of the cage.

"No!" Alex shouted, reaching through the bars to grab her, but missed. Even if he had managed to get a hold of her, there was nothing he could do. "Melody!"

He painfully slammed his fists against the bars, then swam out from under the ship. Coming up on the side, he surfaced, moving back from the ship to see more of it.

"Bloodshot!" he shouted furiously. "Bloodshot! Where are you? Bloodshot! Bloodshot!"

He called the captain's name several more times before he finally got an answer. "That be Capt'n Bloodshot, yeh lousy fish! Show some respect!"

A few seconds later, the captain appeared at the railing with his crew close behind him. Melody was with him, held in a headlock as he smirked down at the merboy. "Well, well, look at who we 'ave here. Welcome back, boy. Did yeh miss us?"

Alex didn't rise to the captain's taunting. "Let her go, you sick freak!"

Instead, the captain visibly tightened his hold around her neck as Melody desperately clawed at the arm wrapped around her throat. "No, I don' think I'll be doin' that. The little princess here be me ticket ta obtainin' the sea king's trident. Don' worry, boy, she be in no immediate danger, not unless someone decides ta try somethin' foolish."

Alex's fists clenched. He knew the captain wouldn't respond to threats, pleas, or begging. His goal was in sight, and he wouldn't let it slip through his fingers a second time. But most disturbing of all was the fact that the closer to his goal he got, the more dangerous the captain seemed to become. He had to get Melody away from him.

"Fine then!" he shouted. "Take me instead! I won't resist or try to escape! I'll cooperate with whatever you want and tell you whatever you want to hear! So let her go and take me!"

As Melody yelled in protest, the captain roared with laughter. "Now I know yeh were lyin' ta me earlier! This behavior o' yers be more than mere loyalty fer the princess. Yer in love with her, aren' yeh, boy? Don' bother ta deny it, it be as plain as day. I should 'ave known yeh weren' bein' truthful back then. I recognized the look in yer eyes. I've seen it before, the worried look fer a loved one. Now yeh be here, ready ta trade yerself fer her. How very touchin'. But I'm afraid that I'll be turnin' down yer offer. The sea king wouldn' trade his trident fer a commoner like yeh. His granddaughter on the other hand, aye, he'll trade fer her. After all, yeh jus' showed me what a person be willin' ta give up fer a loved one."

At that moment, a beam of light erupted from the ocean a distance away, flying up into the sky. The beam traveled through the water, approaching the Sea Arrow, slicing through the clouds in the sky. Its source originated from the trident that emerged from the water, wielded by King Triton. Behind him were several heavily armored mermen, along with Tip, Dash, and Sebastian, the crab riding on the walrus' head. Ariel was beside her father, and Flounder was beside her. And in the very back of the army of mermen emerged the giant squid that the sea king had managed to recruit a few days ago for the upcoming battle.

An arrogant grin crept up the captain's face. "Well, speak o' the devil. Sea devil that be. Ahoy, there, King Triton! So good ta see yeh again."

"Bloodshot!" Triton bellowed furiously, pointing his trident at the ship.

The captain shifted his position to give the sea king a better view of his granddaughter. "Ah, ah, ah, yeh wouldn' want ta hurt the little princess, would yeh?"

The trident stopped glowing, and Triton lowered it, scowling up at him.

The captain smirked confidently. "There, much better. Now we can talk like civilized men."

"There is nothing civilized about you! Now release my granddaughter!"

A bored look crossed the captain's face. "Come now, yeh should know how this works. This be the same situation the two o' us be in a few days ago. Only this time, I be holdin' somethin' far more precious ta yeh. If yeh be wantin' yer granddaughter back, then yeh will need ta hand over yer trident."

"Don't do it!" Melody shouted as she continued to attempt to pull the captain's arm from around her neck.

His grip just tightened. "Be silent, wench!"

"Stop!" the sea king shouted. "If you harm one hair on her head, I swear I'll-"

The captain pulled out his sword. "Yeh'll what?" he roared, and shifted his grip on Melody so he could place the blade against her throat. "Yeh'll do what? Don' think I won' hesitate ta cut the girl's throat right her in front o' yeh."

Ariel's hand unconsciously grabbed her father's arm, but he had already frozen in fear. Yet he did his best to appear poised and confident. "You should be careful of what threats you throw around. She alone is what is keeping you safe from my wrath. If you kill her, _I_ won't hesitate to send your entire ship to the bottom of the ocean with you and your whole crew."

But the captain didn't show the least bit of concern at this promise. "That all depends on yeh, yer highness. I don' know about yeh, but I be placin' all me cards on the table. This be an all or nothin' situation. I'll not be negotiatin' with yeh. Either hand over yer trident, or me, me crew, 'n' yer granddaughter all die, righ' here, righ' now, 'n' I'll be usin' all me magic ta take as many o' yeh blasted fishfolk with me as I can. The choice be yers, sea king. Will it be a bloodbath, or will we be makin' a trade?"

"Don't!" Melody cried again. "You can't! You know what it will mean!"

The captain pressed the blade of his sword against her throat. "If yeh open yer mouth again, I'll relieve yeh o' yer tongue. Do yeh understand?"

He looked back at the sea king, and all heads followed, awaiting his decision. He stared up at Melody, then looked down at his trident. He shouldn't do it; he knew he shouldn't. As king, he had a responsibility. He had to think of his people first and foremost, no matter what it cost him, be that his own life, or the life of a loved one. It was the real burden that a true leader carried. They had to sacrifice the things they wanted and the people they loved for their kingdom if necessary. He knew what handing over his trident meant, he knew what evil would be unleashed, and as king, he could not let that happened, even if it meant losing his precious little Melody. That was his royal duty as king.

But as a grandfather, he could not allow her to die. Refusing to hand over his trident meant certain death for his beloved granddaughter. But maybe, just maybe, a miracle would come to pass, and they would still somehow be able to put a stop to this oncoming catastrophe, even without the trident, no matter how unlikely it was.

Sighing, he went against everything he knew he should do as king, and gave in to the captain's demands. "Very well, you may have my trident, just as long as you let my granddaughter go unharmed."

"Grandfather, no!" Melody screamed.

It seemed that the captain was so delighted by Triton's willingness to cooperate that he forgot about his threat to cut out her tongue if she spoke again. "Excellent! I'm certainly glad yeh be talkin' sense. Now, bring yerself on up her, nice 'n' easy."

Giving what would perhaps be his final command to his trident, he bid the waters to raise him up, much like they had that day he had said goodbye to his youngest daughter on her wedding day. He rose at a slow pace, so the captain wouldn't get nervous and cut Melody's throat with the sword he still held at her neck.

"That be far enough," the captain told him when Triton was about ten feet from deck level.

"You can't do this!" said Melody. "You know what he'll unleash!"

"I thought I told yeh ta be quiet!" the captain snapped. He looked back at the sea king. "Before we be makin' the trade, I be wantin' proof that that be the real trident."

Triton motioned to the water holding him up. "Is this not proof enough? And did you not see as I unleashed its power when I first arrived to announce my presence?"

The captain just glared at him. "I won' be fallin' fer no tricks. Yeh were too far out ta sea ta make out where that blast o' light be truly comin' from, 'n' this trick with the water not be enough ta convince me that the trident yeh hold be the real one. I be wantin' ta see somethin' done righ' here in front o' me, somethin' I know only can be done with the true trident's power. It's said that it can control the weather, so lets see that. I want yeh ta make it rain, sea king; I want ta see the trident do it with me own eyes."

Triton hesitated, then pointed his trident to the sky.

"Careful," the captain warned, wobbling his sword against Melody's throat threateningly. "Don' be tryin' anythin' funny."

Triton didn't reply, but instead unleashed the trident's magic. It glowed gold in his hand, and almost immediately, dark gray clouds, heavy with water, formed overhead. Thunder rumbled as drops of water began falling from the sky. A heavy downpour had begun, soaking the ship even more than what the ocean had managed to accomplish.

A wild look appeared in the captain's red eyes as he stared hungrily at the trident. "Aye, that be it. Now hand it over, 'n' yeh can 'ave yer precious granddaughter."

But the sea king didn't move, he merely glared at the captain. "Let her go first, then you can have my trident."

The captain just smiled and shook his head. "That not be how this works."

"I don't believe you'll let her go once you have it," Triton argued back.

"Upon me word as captain, I swear ta release her ta yeh unharmed, but I'll be 'avin' the trident first."

The sea king shook his head. "I don't trust you to keep your word; it means nothing to me. There's nothing stopping you from simply killing her the moment it's in your hands."

The captain's eyes narrowed in frustration. "I may be the scourge o' the seven seas, but when I be makin' a promise I be keepin' it."

It still wasn't good enough. "In that case, you have _my_ word as king that I will hand over my trident once my granddaughter is safe."

The two stared each other down for a few seconds, neither relenting. Finally, the captain smiled. "Yeh be a very wise king, indeed. Very well, let us even the playin' fields a bit ta make sure we both be gettin' what we want."

He shoved Melody forward, nearly throwing her over the side of the ship. He kept hold of her hair and moved his sword to the back of her neck, where it was still capable of ending her life. Triton cried out for her along with several others, but she remained on the ship, held in place by gravity and the captain's grip, his hold on her being the only thing that prevented her from falling.

"There now," he said, "the only thing stoppin' her from fallin' safely back inta the sea be me hold on her. So this be what we're goin' ta do. Yeh will throw yer trident ta me, just far enough so I'll 'ave ta let go o' her in order ta catch it. She'll end up back in the water, 'n' I'll end up with the trident, so we'll both get what we want. Does that satisfy yeh?"

"Let go!" Melody wailed as her weight pulled at her hair in the captain's grip.

Triton's hold on his trident tightened as he heard his granddaughter scream, but he knew he couldn't stall any longer. This was the most insurance as he was going to get to having Melody back safely. "Very well, let's do it now."

The captain grinned. "'N' no wimpy throws. I won' attempt ta catch the trident unless I know I can reach it. Try 'n' throw it short, 'n' I'll let it fall inta the water, 'n' we can try this again."

Triton nodded in understanding. Without another word, he threw his trident to the captain; not far enough for it to land on the deck, but just close enough so that the captain could reach it if he tried, just as he said.

True to his word, when the captain decided that it was close enough, he let go of Melody and reached for the trident. She screamed as she fell from the ship, landing safely in the water. Her grandfather splashed down next to her, and she immediately swam into his arms.

Up above, the captain gripped the trident triumphantly. The mighty weapon glowed in his hands, and he relished in the feeling of the power of the entire ocean flowing through him. He stroked up the length of it, feeling the three pointy ends, his face a mask of delight.

"Finally, at long last, I hold the magic trident o' the great sea king in me hands. I waited a long time fer this. Now be the time ta embrace me destiny." He turned to his men. "Bring it out."

As his men scrambled to obey, Triton broke the embrace with his granddaughter and looked up at the captain. "Wait, you must listen to me!"

The captain didn't even bother to look at him. "I be done listenin' ta others. Now I be the one in charge o' me own fate."

"You can't free her!" the sea king cried desperately. "You don't understand what you'll be unleashing! Not even with the trident will you be able to control her!"

The captain laughed. "Control her? Who said anythin' about controllin' her?" He glanced down at him. "The problem with tryin' ta control someone be that they always be wantin' ter escape or rebel against yeh. I find that an agreement or partnership be far more beneficial. I shall rule above, she can rule below; we both stay out o' each other's ways. As fer the trident, what us be it ta me once it serves its purpose. It be meant fer the ruler o' the sea. I 'ave me own brand o' magic at me disposal, she can 'ave the trident."

The sea king's eyes widened in horror. "You can't!"

Having heard enough, the captain waved the trident. A wave rose up and washed Triton and Melody away from the ship and over to the rest of the merpeople.

Triton resurfaced and raised his hand, looking to the giant squid. "Seize him!"

The giant squid's tentacles shot out, slithering over the ship. The captain just chuckled and unleashed the trident's power. As if it were no longer in control of its own limbs, the giant squid froze. Under the power of the trident, it bowed its head in submission and sank beneath the sea in defeat.

Spears immediately began flying from the mermen, and the captain turned the trident on them as well. They all found themselves no longer able to attack. It was only because the captain wished for them to see his victory that they weren't struck down where they were.

Grinning, the captain turned his back on them as he focused on his men carrying the large covered object that had remained in his quarters for the past several years. He limped over to it as his men set it down and backed off. Reaching up, he pulled off the sheet covering it. Beneath it was the statue of a mermaid in perfect detail. The tail was positioned in such a way that the statue could balance on it at an angle, a coincidental bit of luck for the mermaid when the petrification took place.

The captain reached out, stroking the mermaid's stone cheek, almost fondly, before backing up several feet. "The time has come, Lady Arquan, I release yeh from yer stony prison. Rise again, 'n' take yer rightful place as queen o' the sea."

He pointed the trident at the statue and gave a mental command. The trident responded in kind and began glowing. A beam of sparkling greenish-gold light burst from the end, striking the statue. As the light flowed over the statue, glowing cracks appeared over it, spreading across the entire surface. The statue began to tremble, as if something inside it were alive, much like a crab ready to shed its outer shell.

There was a small explosion as pieces of stone went flying, creating a dust cloud that obscured the statue. With the outer stone layer gone, the form of something alive was visible for a brief moment before it was lost in the dust cloud. The figure could not yet be seen, but the vicious snarl from it was heard, sounding like it came from what could only be described as a monster.

**(A/N: Danger! Danger! Arquan has been resurrected, Captain Bloodshot has the trident, and he's planning on handing it over to her. But I haven't entirely decided on what's going to happen next. I was thinking about making it so Arquan, after having been imprisoned for so long, is left weak and powerless upon her resurrection, making her no real threat, and sending Captain Bloodshot into a murderous rage. Or maybe she'll be at full strength, and the two of them will be an unstoppable duo that need to be taken down. In any case, it still spells trouble for our heroes. Melody was right, there is indeed a storm coming, and there's no telling who will be left alive once it's over.)**

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	14. Chapter 14: The Storm

**(A/N: This chapter was fun to write, and I was eager to write it. After leaving things at a cliffhanger last chapter, we're finally going to be introduced to the legendary Arquan. I left you a few possible scenarios I was considering at the end of the last chapter, so lets see what course of action my imagination decided to take. These types of story do tend to write themselves, you know.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 14: The Storm**

The dust cloud had not yet settled enough to properly make out the creature inside it. Not that the crew was even looking. Most had their faces turned away, others merely looked out of the corners of their eyes, and some were brave enough to look right at it, but with squinting eyes so as not to make out the mermaid's features.

The captain was among the braver ones, even though he knew that looking upon the creature's face meant instant death through petrification. He had no desire to be tuned to stone, but knew that as long as he squinted, his vision would be blurred enough so the mermaid's cursed appearance would not affect him.

Not that she could be seen within the dust cloud anyway. But she could certainly be heard. Heavy raspy breathing came from within the cloud, along with the occasional scratching sounds, followed by something being dragged across the wooden floor.

As the dust settled, the wicked creature known as Arquan was finally revealed. She was rather pale, and very thin, her bones nearly visible beneath her ashen skin, her bright red seashell bra standing out. Her tail was of a grayish-lavender color that rested on the floor. The scratching sound came from her hands as she used them to pull her weight. Her fingernails, which were long enough and sharp enough to pass for claws, dug into the wooden floor, leaving deep grooves as she dragged herself along.

Just like the statue she recently was, she had eels for hair, but they hung lifelessly from her head. Her face was downcast, unable to be seen with the eels hanging, unmoving, around her. It seemed she had no strength left to her, not even enough to lift her head, and just barely enough to drag her body.

The captain stared at this seemingly pitiful creature for a few moments before addressing her. "Lady Arquan, I be Capt'n Bloodshot. T'was I that freed yeh from yer stone prison, jus' as I swore I would. Now I offer yeh a partnership that would be greatly beneficial ta the both o' us."

The mermaid gave no indication that she even heard him as she continued to drag herself across the deck.

The captain hesitated for a few moments before continuing. "I possess the sea king's trident. It be with its power that I brought yeh back. Yeh may 'ave it. Do with it what yeh will. Rule the sea as yeh see fit ta yer heart's content. I ask but one thing in return, that twice a week yeh send a single merperson ta me ta be sacrificed. I care not who they be, jus' as long as the sacrifices keep comin'. Other than that, I care not what yeh do? What do yeh say? Do we 'ave a deal?"

He received no answer other from the mermaid other than her raspy breathing. She simply continued crawling along, seemingly unaware that the captain and his crew were even there at all.

A twinge of concern began to stir within the captain, and he dared to squint a little less to make out the mermaid's form. She seemed to be as weak as a baby, seemingly unaware of where she even was. Could this really be the dreaded and terrible Arquan? Had her many years as a living statue damaged her beyond repair?

Maybe she just needed to get back in the water to replenish herself. True, it was still raining, but he knew that seawater was better than fresh water for merfolk, and he had no idea how things worked with those eels growing out of her head. Was she crawling towards the end of the ship so she could get overboard and back into the ocean, so intent on that that she didn't notice anything else?

Gripping the trident tightly, he cautiously approached the wheezing mermaid. "Lady Arquan? Do yeh need ta get in the water?"

All at once, an inhuman shriek escaped her, the horrendously loud cry causing all the windows on the ship to shatter. Showing strength that discredited her seemingly weakened state, she lifted herself up and raised her head in one quick motion. Her eels sprang to life, wriggling about and hissing angrily as bolts of electricity traveled over them. Arquan's face twisted into a vicious snarl, revealing two vampire-like fangs on both her top and bottom jaw. Her eyes glowed with a bright red light, making it impossible to see their actual color.

It happened instantaneously. The captain had gotten close enough so that, even squinting, he had been able to make out her features enough for her curse to take affect. His flesh immediately hardened and lost all color, becoming a dark gray. The air left his lungs in a rush as he breathed his last breath, the power of Arquan's cursed appearance turning him into a perfect statue.

It was ironic. Though death had claimed him, his figure now stood here as an exact stone replica of the man he once was. Never changing, never aging, immortalized in solid stone forever. Perhaps, in a way, he had gotten exactly what he wanted on his futile quest for eternal life.

Or so it would have been had there been no further interference. Arquan raised her hand, and the trident broke free of the captain's stone grip, completely shattering his arms as it flew into the mermaid's open palm. She gripped the mighty weapon tightly, staring down at it with an unreadable expression; even her eels were completely fixated on it.

Much like the captain had, she stroked up the trident's length, making a soft cooing sound as her black lips shifted into a sinister smile. With a triumphant screech, she held the trident over her head with both hands, shouting her delight to the dark sky. Then, turning her glowing red eyes upon the armless statue of the captain, she pointed the trident at it and unleashed its power. A bolt of light burst from the trident and struck the statue, causing it to explode into a million pieces.

A sadistic laughter escaped her as she turned the trident on the other pirates, firing deadly beams at anyone in sight. Several crewmembers cried out as they were blasted to dust. The rest immediately abandoned ship as Arquan unleashed the trident's power on anyone that didn't manage to get away in time.

"It's begun," Triton muttered. He motion to the soldiers he had brought along. "Attack!"

The spears began flying. Arquan scowled as they rained down around her. She raised the trident and a massive geyser launched the ship high into the air. The entire spray of water froze over, the ice holding the ship in place, keeping it up in the air and out of range. She laughed mockingly at how the spears could no longer reach her, no matter how hard they were thrown. Holding up the trident, she rose in the air and settled down in the crow's nest at the top of the mast, now even farther out of reach.

Sneering down at the merfolk, the eels attached to Arquan's head began producing more electricity. It flowed down her body in bright blue bolts, and, with an ear-splitting shriek, sent them flying in all different directions. The merfolk quickly submerged as the electricity danced across the water's surface, lighting it up as it was electrified, Arquan laughing all the while. It was fortunate that, although water conducted electricity, it kept most of it on the surface, and the merfolk were able to avoid the shock by quickly diving down deep enough.

With a gleeful hiss, she pointed the trident at the water and motioned upward. At her command, a massive wave rose, and with a motion of the trident, it was sent speeding off into the distance. Cackling madly, Arquan repeated the process, creating and sending out another enormous wave.

After a few moments hesitation, Triton determined it was safe to head back up to the surface. The other merfolk followed him back up, careful not to look at the psychotic mermaid when they broke the surface.

"What's she doing?" Melody cried as Arquan sent out a third wave.

Triton's nails dug into his palms. "She's creating tsunamis. She's sending them out to flood the mainland."

An unexpected voice came from up above. "What would she want to do that for?"

Looking up, they spotted Scuttle, who had come over to investigate the unusual weather activity while flying around.

"Scuttle," said Ariel, "what are you doing here? It's dangerous."

The seagull flew over to her and landed on her shoulder. "I came to see why it was only raining around this area. What's going on here?"

Alex turned to the sea king. "Your majesty, could Scuttle maybe retrieve the trident from her?"

Triton shook his head. "Not without turning to stone."

"Oh, no problem," Scuttle replied. "I'll just come at her from behind."

As he flew off Ariel shoulder, she called a warning after him. "Don't look at her face! You'll die if you do!"

"Thanks for the warning, sweetie!"

He flew high into the air and circled around overhead. As Arquan sent out another tsunami, he swooped down from behind, ready to try and snatch the trident from her. But as he approached, several of the eels snapped at him like snakes, causing him to retreat. Arquan turned to him and, with a vicious snarl, shot several bolts of electricity at him from her fingers.

Though Scuttle had managed to avoid looking at her, he was not so lucky in escaping the electric attack. One of the bolts struck his rear end, and he let out a painful squawk.

"Sorry, sweetie!" he hollered as he flew away with his tail feathers smoking.

Laughing manically, Arquan failed to notice the upcoming sneak attack until one of her eels spotted it and alerted her. From down below, the tentacles of the giant squid had begun to snake up the frozen geyser and had started feeling around the ship. Her face twisted into a mask of fury as she pointed the trident at a tentacle and fired a beam.

Upon making contact with the tentacle, a golden aura engulfed the giant squid, and at the mermaid's command, it was lifted up and out of the water. She then bid it to come closer, and the giant squid unwillingly found its body obeying her command.

Once it was facing her, she saw that its eyes were shut tight, and she sent a mental command to the trident, demanding that the giant squid open its eyes. Helpless against the trident's power, the giant squid soon felt its eyelids beginning to open against its will. It immediately turned to stone upon gazing at the mermaid and dropped back into the sea, sinking into the depths like the rock it was. The merfolk watched as its giant form fell past them before looking up at the ship again.

"She's out of control!" said Ariel. "We have to stop her!"

"But how?" asked Flounder. "Even if we could manage to get near her, she has the trident. And even if she didn't, we'd turn to stone if we look at her. Scuttle was lucky he got away with only his tail feathers singed."

Triton stroked his beard. "Precisely why she had gone undefeated for so long until my grandfather managed to trick her."

Almost as if she had heard him talking of her defeat, Arquan's attention turned towards the sea king. Raising the trident, she commanded lightning to rain down from the sky at him and the others. The merfolk submerged to avoid the lightning as it struck all around them, but Arquan didn't seem to care that she wasn't hitting her targets, seeming to be taking delight in simply toying with them. Deranged laughter escaped her as she wildly waved the trident around, whipping the sea into a frenzy. Every so often, beams would fire from the trident, cutting through the water, and occasionally striking down a merman that had been unfortunate enough to be in the beam's path.

Even beneath the surface, the rough water tossed the merfolk about. Up above, the waves were thrashing about so aggressively that it made it nearly impossible to stay above water for more than a few seconds. The pirates that had abandoned ship were unfortunate prey to the mighty waves.

Melody swam over to Alex, taking his hand as they looked up at the Sea Arrow. Even from underwater, they could still hear Arquan's psychotic laughter and deranged shrieks.

"She's totally crazy," said Melody. "I thought Captain Bloodshot was nuts, but she's completely insane; I mean in desperate need of a straightjacket insane."

Alex had no idea what a straightjacket was, but if Melody thought Arquan was psychotic enough to need one, then she was probably right. "I know what you mean. When your grandfather said she was mad, I never expected this. I don't even know if she's capable of talking anymore. You're right though, Bloodshot was a swim in the reef compared to her."

Tip, Dash, and Sebastian, still on the walrus' head, swam over to them. "I'll tell you what's crazy," said the penguin. "This! This whole thing is crazy! What are we still doing here? We should be swimming for our lives!"

Sebastian snapped his claw in front of his face to get his attention. "And go where? She plans to flood dee entire planet, and den turn all life to stone! Where are we going to hide?" He swam over to the sea king. "Your majesty, you must do someding!"

"I'm thinking!" Triton snapped, unintentionally taking his anger out on him. "The preparations for her return hadn't been ready yet, and we had to suddenly rush over here before we were prepared!"

Melody winced. She felt like she was to blame for Arquan's resurrection, and hung her head shamefully. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If only I hadn't gotten caught, then this never would have happened."

Ariel swam over and hugged her. "You can't blame yourself. This isn't your fault."

Alex squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Yeah, you were a victim. The real person at fault is Bloodshot."

"That creep got what he deserved!" Flounder grumbled, crossing his fins. Truthfully though, he was just ranting. He, thankfully, had no experience in dying, but turning to stone had to be a horrible way to go, even for the mad captain.

Sighing, the sea king turned to his granddaughter. "They're right. I'm not angry with you. I'm not even angry at Bloodshot. The one I'm really angry with is myself. As king, I should have handled things differently." He reached for Melody and cupped her chin. "I have no regrets about saving you, but I never should have let that man have my trident. I should have figured out another way. I alone am to blame."

Looking back up at the choppy surface, and angry scowl crossed his face. He swam over to another merman and yanked the spear out of his hands. Gripping it tightly, he swam down into the depths, disappearing into the darkness below.

Several seconds passed where there was no sign of the sea king. Then he suddenly came shooting to the surface as quickly as his fins could take him. He burst up from underwater, leaping high into the air. He looked as closely as he dared at the psychotic mermaid, doing his best to aim, and threw the spear with all his strength.

The spear soared through the air, going an impossibly high distance, higher than the tower of ice, higher than the ship, all the way up to the crow's nest where the evil mermaid sat. Her glowing red eyes widened as the spear flew towards her, yet there was no time for her to react.

The spear buried into wood as it struck the crow's nest, not far off its mark. Had he been able to actually look at her and aim properly, Triton would have successfully struck her down. This revelation infuriated Arquan, and her face twisted into a vicious snarl.

With a powerful flick of her tail, she split the spear in two. Pointing the trident down at the water, she unleashed its power. The ocean froze over several meters out from where the pillar of ice that held up the ship was, making it impossible for Triton, or any other merman, to try what the sea king had just attempted a second time.

Unleashing a breathy hiss as she grinned evilly, she thrust the glowing trident in the air. She screeched loudly as the trident flashed brightly. Down beneath the sea, a golden aura surrounded the merfolk. They unwillingly found themselves pulled to the surface by the trident's power.

Ariel had her daughter ripped from her embrace as she too was pulled up to the surface. Melody and Alex tried to keep hold of each other, gripping the other's hand tightly, yet they were pulled away from each other all the same.

One by one, the merpeople were pulled out of the water and left dangling in the air. They looked anywhere but at Arquan, but if they had, they would have seen her turn the trident on them and begin blasting them out of the sky, one at a time, cackling gleefully all the while. But she wasn't just randomly picking them off, she was looking for someone, and simply ridding herself of the ones she had already looked over.

That was when she saw him. King Triton. She hadn't gotten a good look at him when he had thrown the spear at her, but she could tell right away that he was the descendant of the one who had caused her curse to rebound, trapping her in her own stone body. It wasn't just the crown that gave him away though. Even hanging in the air, everything about him screamed of authority, revealing who he was.

Excited rapid breathing escaped her, a wicked grin creeping up her face as she practically began salivating. He had his eyes closed so he couldn't see her, but this didn't matter as she pointed the trident at him. The current ruler of the sea was about to meet his end at the hands of his grandfather's former nemesis because he didn't have the nerve to finish her off in her helpless state, and she would enjoy every moment of his death.

But as she took aim, something caught her attention, something upon the horizon. A scowl crossed her face as she allowed the merfolk to drop back into the water. It seemed the activity around the Sea Arrow had caught the attention of not only Scuttle, but of the royal fleet as well, and they had begun making their way to the unusual phenomenon.

Back in the water, the merfolk tried to figure why they had been released.

"She had us at her mercy," said Alex, "why did she let us go?"

Triton couldn't figure it out either. "I don't know, but we lost some mermen up there. We must not let them die in vain."

"Sire!" a merman swam over to him. "My king, the royal fleet is on their way!"

The sea king turned to him. "What? Right now?"

The merman nodded. "They should be here shortly."

Triton tapped his chin. "That must have been what distracted her."

Ariel grabbed her father's arm. "Daddy, Eric doesn't know she's been resurrected."

This was beginning to feel like a repeat of last time, and, like the captain, Arquan didn't want any interferences either. With a cry like a banshee, she began swirling the trident around overhead. Air currents came together from different directions and began whirling together at their meeting point. Water rose up, getting caught in the suction of the forming funnel as a tornadic waterspout formed. There was not just one either. A distance away, several more formed, and soon there were eight tornados at sea, rotating around the Sea Arrow just far away enough to prevent the ship from getting sucked up. There was no hope of any of the royal fleet coming to aid, not without getting pulled up into the waterspouts.

Arquan shrieked with laughter as electricity began dancing off her eels, flying in all directions. Beneath the surface, the merfolk crowded together as one of the waterspouts passed over them. While normally waterspouts actually weren't that powerful, these enhanced versions the trident created sucked up the water around them, threatening to take the merfolk with it.

"What do we do now?" Melody asked.

Her grandfather hesitated. "I… I'm afraid I don't know. How can we get the trident from her without turning to stone?"

He seemed to be talking to himself, but Ariel responded all the same. "It's as Scuttle said; if we come at her from behind, we can look at her without anything happening."

He looked up at the frozen surface around the ship. "Even if we could manage that without one of her eels seeing us and alerting her, we have no way of getting near her with that ice up there."

Alex followed the sea king's gaze up to the Sea Arrow. There had been so much misery on that accursed ship. It had caused him nothing but grief ever since he had cut those nets free to release Gummy and the other captured fish, only to have the captain catch him with his fancy magic. Now the ship was the source of something far more sinister than the deranged captain. It was almost funny how, just a few days ago, he would have given nearly anything to get off of it, off that very mast in fact, but now they needed to get onto it, up that actual mast, in order to get close to something even worse than the mad captain.

It was at that moment of reflecting on the past that the idea occurred too him. Sometimes inspiration sprang up at the most peculiar of times, and from the most unexpected of things. And although it seemed like a suicide mission, it didn't seem like there were many options left.

Putting some distance between himself and the others, he swam over to Tip and Dash, who were busy cowering fearfully in each other's arms. "Guys, listen to me, I have a plan, but I'm going to need your help. Can I count on the great Titanic Tip and Daring Dash?"

The penguin and walrus shared a look. "That depends," the former muttered, "what's you plan?"

He told them what he had in mind, and their reactions were exactly what he expected.

"That's not a plan!" Tip exclaimed. "That's a suicide mission!"

"It does sound pretty crazy," Dash admitted.

"Crazy!" Tip cried. "It's totally bonkers! You're going to get yourself, and us, killed! If not by what you're planning, then Melody will kill us for sure!"

Alex held out his arms. "I don't have any other ideas, and we're dead anyway if we don't do anything."

A few moments of silence passed between them before the two of them shared another look. Then Dash's expression changed to a look of pleading. Tip groaned miserably and smacked his forehead before relenting.

"All right, all right!" he grumbled. "If we're going to die, we might as well go down trying to save the day. Titanic Tip!"

"And Daring Dash!"

"Reporting for duty!"

At that moment, a stray beam from the trident cut through the water, passing between the two of them. With a shriek, they jumped apart in surprise.

"Lets just get this over with!" Tip cried.

"Just a second," Alex told them.

He looked over at Melody. She was beside her mother and grandfather. Taking a deep breath, he swam over to her and grabbed her wrist, turning her to face him. Right there in front of Triton and Ariel, he pulled her to him and kissed her long and hard on the mouth.

Even amongst the danger, Triton and Ariel were so shocked at this sudden spontaneous display of open affection that their mouths dropped open. While in the past, Alex had been afraid that this would have gotten him a one-way ticket to the dungeon, right now he really didn't care. Besides, odds were that he'd be dead soon anyway, and he wanted to do this one last time.

Breaking the kiss, he looked at his beautiful mermaid princess. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open in pleasure from their kiss. He waited for her eyes to open as well before look directly into those pools of blue.

"I love you," he told her quietly.

With great reluctance, he tore himself away from her and went back to Tip and Dash. Ignoring her questioning cries of where he was going, the three of them swam off to put Alex's plan into action.

Swimming a distance away from the others, they placed themselves right in the path of an oncoming waterspout as it made its rotation around the Sea Arrow. Both Tip and Dash looked close to passing out, but Alex had a look of determination on his face.

"I should warn you," Tip shouted over the roar of the approaching waterspout, "since I'm only a penguin and can't fly like other birds, my judgment of things is based on being underwater, not in the air!"

"That's ok!" Alex shouted back. "I still trust you to make the right call!"

As the waterspout passed over them, they allowed themselves to be sucked up, even swimming directly into the swirling vortex. They rose up high into the air, caught up in the heavy air currents that sucked up the ocean like an out of water whirlpool.

Alex had gotten the idea for this from how Captain Bloodshot had caught him. He would be the first to admit that this was indeed incredibly stupid, not to mention reckless and dangerous, but they were out of time and out of options. And as they rose high in the air, doing their best to swim with the current, Alex relied on his penguin friend to be the judge for what came next.

"I am now officially the only penguin to ever fly!" Tip shouted. "Now get ready; we're coming around!"

Nodding, Alex grabbed Dash's flippers. Keeping a firm grip, he allowed the walrus to begin spinning him around, building up momentum.

"Now!" Tip cried.

As they came around from the waterspout's spinning current, Dash flung Alex with all of his strength. The direction of the current provided Alex with additional speed and momentum, and he burst from the spinning vortex of water. The sucking air current attempted to pull him back, but the momentum he had built up, along with the air current that had been moving in the same direction he had been thrown in before it turned to a curve by the opposing one, propelled him forward enough to allow him to break free of the suction.

He had to be a few thousand feet in the air, and he had a one-way drop back down to the water below. The impact from falling from so high up, even into the water, would most assuringly kill him, but it wasn't his intention to end up back into the water quite yet. The waterspout he had just escaped from had been making its rotation around the Sea Arrow. And as he flew towards it, he was coming up behind the psychotic mermaid.

But he could see it even now; he was off course by several feet. There was no way he would reach his target. It had been a one in a million shot anyway. He had been lucky to end up this close on track, yet it had been better than simply waiting around to die. But it seemed that that was irrelevant now.

"Calabunga!"

The cry came from his side. Scuttle came soaring through the air towards him, doing his best to control his flying in the powerful wind. He flew towards Alex and, using the shoulder area of his wing, slammed into Alex with all the strength he could muster. His wing broke and he went tumbling from the sky, using his remaining good wing to slow down his descent as much as possible.

The impact adjusted Alex's course, turning him more in the direction of Arquan. He came down from up above at an angle behind the evil mermaid as she raised the trident over her head and let out another horrible screech of delight.

He made a grab for it, more like colliding into it actually, hugging the trident to his body as he came down over her. But insanity tended to cause powerful rushes of adrenaline, increasing one's strength, and Arquan's grip on the trident had been so tight that Alex was unable to pull it from her grasp. He did, however, almost pull her right out of the crow's nest as he clung to the trident, nearly dislocating his shoulders from the whiplash as Arquan refused to relinquish her hold on it.

Ah inhuman shriek escaped the psychotic mermaid as she realized he had attempted, and almost succeeded, in taking the trident from her. With repeated ear-splitting screeches, she attempted to shake him loose.

Alex held on for dear life, keeping his eyes tightly closed so he wouldn't accidentally look upon her as she swung him around. Arquan shook the trident furiously, shrieking all the while, but he clung to it with all his strength. Electricity danced across her body and flowed through the trident and into Alex in an attempt to get him to release his grip. The sensation was painful, but electricity caused muscle spasms, making his grip tense up and lock on the trident even tighter.

When the painful shock ended, he was left feeling weak and dazed. His grip on the trident slackened, and he felt himself losing his hold on it. But at the same time, he felt the power the magical weapon possessed, and even through the pain, he was left in awe at what he felt from it.

He didn't think; he simply reacted. He too had a hold of the trident, and he sent it a single command.

As Arquan swung him about, he let go. Fortunate favored him as he landed on the netting that led up to the crow's nest, and went tumbling down to the deck. When he hit the wooden floor, he covered his head and waited for it to happen.

Up above, a triumphant sneer crossed Arquan's face. She turned her glowing red eyes down upon the blonde merboy and pointed the trident at him to make the killing blow.

As the trident glowed to unleash its power, loud thunder rumbled directly overhead. Arquan looked up to see the sky above her light up. From the command that Alex had managed to send to the trident, lightning struck, coming straight down at the evil mermaid. Her face twisted into a look of surprise as she shrieked horribly.

The lightning struck the crow's nest, blasting it to pieces, and splitting the entire mast in half. A massive hole blew open in the Sea Arrow from the blast, and the ice pillar shattered completely. The ship broke apart and fell from the sky, taking Alex down with it.

**(A/N: Woo, what a rush. Did I make an impressive villain? Captain Bloodshot may have been mad, but he was mostly completely delusional and in denial of reality. For Arquan, I wanted to make a truly psychotic villain, the in in desperate need of a straight jacket, as Melody put it, with just enough rationality to think for herself, but not enough to really control herself. Though I'm proud with the way she turned out, the problem with a character like that is that you can't keep them around too long with how violent and out of control they are. Speaking of which, is everybody satisfied with how Captain Bloodshot met his end. You probably saw it coming, but it seemed a most fitting death based on his obsession. So, with that out o the way, we only have about two chapters left, and you really won't want to miss the next one, I can promise you that.)**

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	15. Chapter 15: Melody's Decision

**(A/N: Ok, I'm a day late, but I think the length of this chapter makes up for it. It's the longest one yet, and it has one or two shocking surprises. Things get pretty intense in this chapter. It's also the second to last one, so I hope you enjoy it.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 15: Melody's Decision**

As the seconds ticked by, the raging sea and stormy weather slowly began to calm. The waves became gently, the wind stopped blowing so hard, and the waterspouts began to die out, dropping Tip and Dash back into the water. Even the rain stopped falling as the dark gray clouds started to dissipate, the sky reverting back to the clear blue it had been before.

Pieces of shattered ice and fragments of wood from the ship floated about in the calming water, the larger more intact portions of the Sea Arrow sinking beneath the surface. Melody wasted no time hurrying into the debris, looking for Alex both above and below the water, all the while trying to figure out what in the world had possessed him to do something so incredibly stupid. If he was still alive, she was going to kill him.

But the moment that thought entered her mind, she felt a feeling of unimaginable dread twist at her heart. Alex couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be! She refused to even accept it as a possibility. He was alive, somewhere among all this wreckage, she just had to find him, and give him a piece of her mind.

She wasn't the only one searching. The other mermen had begun looking through the debris as well. Her grandfather had assured her that they would find him no matter what. If he was hurt, then he could easily be healed with the trident, once that was found as well; at the moment, it was probably buried somewhere beneath all the wreckage on the ocean floor.

"Hey, Melody!"

She heard her walrus friend call for her, and turned to find him and Tip swimming over to her. "Tip! Dash!"

"It's ok," he said, "we're all right."

"Yes," the penguin replied, rubbing his flippers together proudly. "Another plan perfectly executed."

"Idiots!" she shouted at them tearfully, making them cringe. "What were you thinking? How could you do something so stupid and dangerous?"

Dash hung his head. "We were trying to be heroes."

"Well, congratulations, you succeeded! You also succeeded in nearly scaring me to death!"

Tip held up his flippers defensively. "Ok, just to get the record straight, it was your boyfriend's idea, not ours; he just talked us into it."

Melody furiously wiped at the tears in her eyes. "I'm too worried about him right now to be angry with him, but I'll yell at him later. Come one, we have to find him."

And so the search continued, and a few minutes later, a merman waved Melody over. "Your majesty, over here!"

Thinking that they had found Alex, she sped through the water over to the merman. But it wasn't Alex that had been discovered, it was Scuttle.

"Hey, sweetie," greeted the seagull. "How's it going? Ow!"

He winced in pain, grabbing at his wing.

"Scuttle," said Melody, breathing a sigh of relief, glad to see that her feathered friend was ok. "Are you all right?"

He gave her a grin. "I'm doing fine. Just nursing a broken wing from when I flew into your boyfriend. Had to get him on the right track, if you know what I mean."

"We'll be able to heal your wing with the trident," said Ariel, swimming over to join them with her father.

"Awesome!" the bird replied. "Maybe you could fix up my singed tail feathers too. Either way, I'm glad I could have been of help." He winced in pain again. "Just wish I had a better method of course correcting blondie. Any sign of him yet?"

Glancing worriedly at his granddaughter, the sea king placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him. I'm sure he's perfectly all right. It didn't look like the lightning hit him. He's probably just stuck under some of the wreckage. We'll heal him right up with the trident once we find it and him." He looked at Scuttle. "Including your wing and tail feathers."

Scuttle leaned back into the arms of the merman who was holding him. "Take your time; I'm starting to lose feeling in my wing anyway."

Melody managed a small smile, but it was very obviously forced. She was glad her friends were ok, but her greatest concern was still for Alex. What if he had been crushed to death beneath all the debris? What if a sharp piece of broken wood had impaled him? There were too many worst-case scenarios, too many ways he could have been killed or seriously injured. They had to find him now.

That's when Flounder came leaping out of the water over to them. "Ariel!" _Splash._ "Melody!" _Splash._ Your majesty!" _Splash._

The sea king just waved him off, more concerned for his granddaughter. "Not now, Flounder."

"But they found him," the fish replied. "They found Alex."

Melody immediately pushed past her grandfather and swam over to him. "Where? Is he all right? Please, tell me he's al right!"

Flounder gave her a smile. "He's fine. A little banged up, but doing fine. Come on."

He led them over to a gathering of mermen. Out of consideration for Scuttle, they stayed above water. Alex was being supported by two mermen. He was covered in cuts and bruises, but he was alive and well.

Seeing Melody coming over to him, he gave her a tired smile. "Hey, Mel-Mel."

He expected some form of reprimanding from her, and most likely a few insults to go along with it, but he didn't expect her to slap him.

"Don't you 'hey, Mel-Mel' me!" she shouted. "You're an idiot! Were you trying to get yourself killed? What if you really did die? Idiot, idiot, idiot!"

She began pummeling the sides of her fists against him, tears of relief, joy, and frustration pouring down her cheeks. The surrounding mermen looked at each other questioningly, wondering if they should put a stop to this, but were hesitant to restrain the princess.

Alex took the hits, deciding that he deserved them for scaring her so badly. They were weak blows anyway that only hurt because his body was sore. He must have really frightened her; he'd never seen her this upset before.

Melody's fists finally stopped their weak attempts at hitting him, and she collapsed against his chest, weeping as her arms snaked around him, hugging him tightly, with no sign of letting go.

Alex hesitantly reached for her and began gently stroking her hair. "I'm sorry, Melody. I was just trying to keep you safe."

She simply shook her head and buried her face deeper into his chest. "You scared me. I thought I had lost you." She looked up at him, her tearful eyes shining with her love for him and the relief she felt that he was all right. "You big idiot."

"An idiot indeed!" Triton declared, swimming over to them with a stern look of disapproval. "That was indeed very foolish of you. Not to mention reckless, dangerous, rash, and…" his expression softened, "incredibly brave, heroic, ingenious, and bold."

Alex, who had been wincing at each of the sea king's insults, looking ashamed, suddenly realized that he was being praised. He looked up at him in surprised confusion, and Triton smiled down at him with a look of pride.

Placing his big hands on the merboy's shoulders, the sea king continued to praise him. "You did excellent, my boy. You've managed to defeat one of the greatest threats the ocean, maybe even the entire planet, has ever faced. You are to be commended for your wit and bravery."

Blushing in embarrassment, Alex gave him an appreciative smile. "Thank you, your majesty. Your praise is humbly accepted." He winced. "But I am a little sore right now, so if you wouldn't mind…"

The sea king quickly removed his hands from his shoulders. "Oh, yes, of course. My apologies. We'll fix you right up." Clearing his throat, he turned to his men. "Our priority now is to find the trident. Get to work on searching through the debris."

As the mermen spread out to continue the search, Melody insisted on being the one to support Alex, not wanting to be separated from him. Truth be told, Alex felt well enough to be able to swim on his own, but he enjoyed having her so close.

The place were the lightning had struck through the ship to the water was still steaming slightly, and the mermen flocked over to this area and dove down to seek out the trident. The water was calm enough, yet the phenomenon still occurred, happening suddenly and out of nowhere.

A geyser erupted from out of the ocean, much like the one that had lifted the Sea Arrow into the air, only this one was much bigger around, and it rose in a continuous stream, going over a thousand feet in the air. It lit up brightly as the geyser was electrified, making it appear as if it were glowing.

All attention shifted towards the massive flashing stream of water. And towards the middle of the rising geyser, the shadowy silhouette of a mermaid with glowing red eyes was visible, very obviously being the source of the electrification.

Suddenly, the silhouette dropped down the stream of water, back into the sea. The geyser stopped flashing and collapsed as well, leaving calm waters once more. Yet as the seconds ticked by, the water where the geyser had erupted began to bubble and steam.

As if an explosion took place, something massive burst up from beneath the surface. It was unlike anything most of them had ever seen before. Colossal in size, it was a dark purplish maroon colored sea serpent of some kind, resembling a monstrous cross between an eel and a dragon, with spikey fins on the sides of its head that made them look like ears, and two long whiskers at the end of its pointy nose.

Melody stared at the giant monster in stunned disbelief. "What is that thing?"

Triton's fists clenched. "It's her. She's still alive."

By his side, Sebastian gave a squeak of fright. "Jumping jellyfish, she turned herself into a leviathan!"

The crab's words reminded Melody of her grandfather mentioning that Arquan was capable of transforming into various types of sea monsters. She currently stared at one even larger than the dragon a certain dark fairy turned herself into, and even longer than the snake an evil Arabian sorcerer had become.

"Daddy, look!" Ariel cried, pointing up at the leviathan's head.

Sticking out of the sea monster's mouth, clenched between its sharp teeth, the trident remained in Arquan's possession. It looked like nothing more than a mere toothpick compared to the beast's massive size. And with a flick of her jaw, the leviathan flipped the trident completely into her mouth and visibly swallowed. With a wicked smile that was clear even on the beast's face. Arquan roared her victory to the skies.

Turning her attention to the merfolk, her glowing red eyes stared at them hungrily. Mercifully, it seemed that in this form, the curse of looking upon her had no affect, yet there was very obviously a new danger that the deadly beast presented.

Roaring, Arquan raised her tail out of the water and brought it down hard. The merfolk quickly swam out of the way as the impact sent up a wall of water. She struck like a snake, jaws snapping, at the fleeing merfolk, missing as they dove.

Underwater, Melody could see the length of the leviathan's long serpentine body. It extended for what must have been at least 1,000 feet, looping about like some random elaborate design. It may not have been 300 miles long as described by certain folklore, but it was still massively long. How could they possibly stop her in this form? This was precisely why the ruler of the sea possessed the trident, so they could control the larger and more aggressive creatures of the sea.

Arquan submerged, her massive body snaking through the water. The merfolk scattered as she swam past, but she turned her attention to them anyway. Opening her mouth, she began sucking down water. A current picked up from the suction, pulling everything into her gaping jaws.

As Melody and the others fought against the current, she noticed a pouch on the leviathan's body, halfway towards the stomach region. The pouch inflated as it filled with water. And once Arquan closed her mouth and the inhalation of water stopped, the pouch seemed to slightly glow a bright orange color, like heated metal.

Melody recalled back during her time on land when she would rummage through the library, looking for whatever there was to find about the ocean. She had read about various types of sea monsters that had come from myth, legend, and folklore, some quite obviously very real. The leviathan had appeared in a few of those books. While some stories simply portrayed it as a mere beast, other readings got rather biblical, a few even claiming that the leviathan was one of the seven princes of Hell.

She wasn't sure how much of what she read was fact and how much was mere legend, but she did recall reading that a leviathan was capable of spitting scalding water. And from the way that pouch was heating up the water Arquan had just sucked down, it seemed as if that part of what she had read was true.

Opening her mouth again, Arquan unleashed the water she had gulped down and heated to unfathomable temperatures. Even from where she was, Melody could feel the water warm up as the boiling stream of water the leviathan spat out forced its way through the sea like an underwater current, even forcing its way to the surface and shooting through the air in a deadly boiling hot spray.

"We're doomed!" Tip shouted. "There's no stopping her now!" Then he added as an after thought, "Not that there was any stopping her before." Then hysteria kicked in again. "We gotta make a swim for it!"

Dash grabbed him as he attempted to swim away. "No, no more running! We're seeing this thing through to the end, like real heroes!"

Unfortunately, the penguin's frightful screams had caught the leviathan's attention. Turning towards them, she spotted the royal family close by. Roaring, she sped in their direction, opening her massive jaws.

"Scatter!" the sea king shouted, and he and the others swam off in different directions.

Arquan's jaws closed over nothing, and she turned to her prey. With her sights set on the sea king, she let out a mighty roar. Instead of swimming towards them a second time, she swam straight down, the fins on her head allowing her to maneuver her large body through the water, gulping down more water as she did so, sending it down her second esophagus to be heated in her pouch.

Circling back up, she struck from below, as sharks were known to do. When the royal family had swam off to avoid her the first time, Ariel had ended up with her father, and Arquan's red gaze was now locked on both of them as she came up from beneath them. They both made to swim out of the way of her path again, but she unleashed the boiling water she had consumed in their path. Feeling the heat, the two halted as the heated water rushed by, the intensity of being so close to it nearly causing them to blister. And as Arquan's pouch ran dry, she opened her mouth once more and caught both father and daughter in her mouth.

Bursting up from beneath the surface, the leviathan rose up high in the air, her mouth still wide open, almost as if she were showing them off to the world, and giving both father and daughter one last mocking look at the light before their deaths.

Inside her jaws, Triton reacted to the situation without thought or question for his own wellbeing. Doing what any father would do for their daughter, he grabbed Ariel by her wrist and, rolling over, used the momentum to throw her out of the leviathan's mouth, just as her jaws came crashing down.

Ariel dropped back into the water. When the shock of what nearly happened passed, she looked up to the surface. "Daddy!"

A moment later, there was a small splash as something dropped into the water, leaving a trail of red as it descended. Ariel and the others looked on in stunned disbelief as the left arm of the sea king sank into the depths. It had been with this arm that Triton had thrown Ariel from Arquan's mouth, the limb having been sticking out when her jaws had snapped shut.

As the arm floated down by Sebastian, the eternally loyal crustacean hugged the severed limb. "Your… your majesty…?"

Melody's mouth hung open slightly in stunned horror. "G-Grandfather…?" The shock finally hit her, and she began screaming. "Grandfather! Grandfather!"

As Alex attempted to hold her back while trying to keep his own grief in check, Melody's screams seemed to break the spell that had fallen over the mermen, and they began shouting in rage. Ariel alone remained silent and unmoving, her body frozen in shock and denial.

Arquan submerged once more and turned her attention to the shouting mermen. A sinister laugh escaped the beast that sounded far too human for her current form, indicating that she still possessed the intelligence to know exactly what she had down, despite being a beast.

Staring at the giant serpent-like creature, Ariel felt tears prick her eyes before they were absorbed by the ocean. Her father had sacrificed himself to save her, and now she had lost both parents. She had been too young to remember much about her mother, but countless memories of her father filled her head. Happy times, sad times, infuriating times, good times, bad times, all the times. They were all precious memories, and now they were all that she had left of the wise and mighty king and father that had raised her.

Slowly, her hands closed into fists. Grief ad anger mixed together in ways she had never felt before. Not even when Ursula had turned her father into a polyp could compare to what she felt right now. Arquan would pay for this; her father's death would be avenged.

"All masses, assemble!" she shouted, swimming over to the soldiers. "Attack on my command! Avenge your king!"

Her cries snapped the shouting mermen back into action, and they moved into battle formation. The leviathan snapped at them as they passed by, but they maneuvered around her lethal jaws.

Ariel may never have fought in a war, let alone led one, the short battles with the Olympian merpeople, the Sharkanians, and the Octopids not included, but she had learned enough about warfare during her years as queen.

"Form squads!" she shouted. "We'll attack in waves! Go for the head!"

The soldiers got in several rows, the first wave swimming forth towards the massive beast. Arquan roared at them, and they responded by throwing their spears and swimming off.

Dozens of needles pricked into Arquan as the spears made impact. She roared in frustration, angrily shaking her head to dislodge the spears that had buried into her flesh. But another wave of mermen immediately attacked, the ones from the previous wave retrieving the spears from down below that had either missed their mark or had been shaken loose before returning to their squads for another round.

Snarling, Arquan whipped her tail at the swarm of soldiers. They scattered to avoid it, then immediately reformed their squads and resumed the attack. Ranks had formed on different sides of the leviathan so she could be attacked from various directions.

Opening her mouth, Arquan sucked down more water to fill her pouch, then made a break for the surface. Even with her massive size, the constant onslaught of spears was highly unpleasant, like a swam of bees that knew proper battle strategy. But having surfaced, she remained out of their range, and she shook her head to dislodge the spears sticking out of her.

The mermen continued their attacks. Surfacing, they continued to throw their spears, even though the leviathan's head was now too high to reach. Arquan roared down at them, and spat jets of boiling water at them when they appeared at the surface. When her pouch ran dry, she resorted to striking like a snake again.

A loud _boom_ was heard over the battle, and a cannonball slammed into Arquan's side. She roared in pain and turned her attention to the source. The royal fleet had finally gotten close enough to join the battle. Cannons went off as the ships fired upon the leviathan.

With a vicious snarl, Arquan dipped her head back down into the swarm of flying spears just long enough to gulp down more water. Once her pouch was full and the water was heated, she turned upon the royal fleet.

Above the sea, the danger of the leviathan's spray was far more noticeable as a cloud of steam escaped her jaws when she opened her mouth. A massive jet of water, hot enough to melt the skin right off of bones, flew from her mouth in a continuous stream, and slammed into one of the ships. The water pressure was so powerful that it pushed the entire vessel back into the others, tearing the ship in half as it shattered the wood apart until it resembled the destroyed Sea Arrow after the lightning strike.

As the crew abandoned ship, Arquan directed her spray towards the rest of the fleet and the continuous barrage of cannon fire. When her supply of water ran out, she dove back under and, ignoring the mermen and their spears, swam towards the fleet.

She struck from below, leaping up from underwater, catching one of the ships in her jaws, and coming back down on others. Leaving the ship she had snatched underwater, she surfaced again and struck like a snake at another. Biting down into the wood, she whipped her head around and spat it at another.

The remaining ships turned and continued to fire their cannons, all the more determine to take down the beast to avenge their fallen comrades. The leviathan roared at them and lifted her tail, bringing it down on another ship, the impact creating waves strong enough and high enough to capsize others.

As the leviathan continued to decimate the royal fleet, Ariel's orders changed. She sent the mermen out to aid the human survivors from the destroyed ships, praying that Eric's ship hadn't been one of the ones Arquan had already struck down. Even Tip, Dash,a nd Flounder went to aid the survivors.

Melody swam over to her mother and grabbed her arm. "What can I do to help?"

Ariel turned to her, her eyes red from crying. "You can leave! I don't want you anywhere around this madness!"

Alex grabbed Melody and attempted to pull her away. "She's right. We need to get you somewhere safe."

But grief and righteous fury had made Melody just as determine as her mother, and she pulled away from him. "No, I'm staying! I'm partly to blame for this! Don't say I'm not, because I am, even if I was just a hostage! And now Grandfather is gone, but I'm going to make sure he didn't die in vain!"

Ariel hesitated, then looked at the rampaging leviathan. She wanted her daughter as far away from here as possible, but she knew that Melody was too stubborn to leave. Even if she ordered Alex to drag her away, Melody would fight him every step of the way. She knew this because it's what she would do, and Melody was every bit her mother's daughter.

As she tried to come up with a solution, her gaze landed on the merman cradling the injured Scuttle. Seeing this as an opportunity, she turned to her daughter. "Fine, if you want to help, go take Scuttle from that soldier and keep him safe."

Melody didn't respond. Instead, all the color drained from her face as she looked at something behind her mother.

Fearful of what she might see, Ariel turned and saw the fleet's flagship in the leviathan's mouth. The massive beast was shaking its head about violently until she finally bit down, crushing the ship in her jaws.

"Eric!" Ariel shouted, and sped through the water towards the destruction.

Down below, Sebastian was still tearfully clinging to the sea king's severed arm, seemingly still in shock. But when he saw Ariel swim off towards the leviathan, he came back to his senses.

"Ar-riel!" he shouted, but was too far away to be heard.

His gaze shifted to Arquan as she continued to annihilate the royal fleet. Fury unlike he never knew rose up in him, and he swam towards the giant creature.

"Dis ees for his majesty!" he shouted, and clamped his pinchers down on the end of the leviathan's flipper-like tail.

Up above, Arquan blinked as a feeling equivalent to a mosquito bite was felt at the end of her tail. Lifting it up out of the water and bringing it to eyelevel, she stared at the little crab clinging to her tail.

The immediate danger over the situation caused the flames of anger within Sebastian to cool. Realizing what a foolish mistake this had been, he grinned sheepishly at the leviathan.

"Lovely tail you have," he tried.

Narrowing her glowing red eyes at him, she spat a small spray of water at him from in between her two front teeth. Fortunately for Sebastian, the water was not heated, but had merely what had been in her mouth. The spray knocked him off her tail, and he fell screaming back into the ocean with a small splash.

More cannon fire from the few remaining ships slammed into Arquan. She turned to them and roared before diving back under. She began swimming around in a circle, her body large enough and moving fast enough to manipulate the current of the water around her. The beginning of a whirlpool began to form, pulling in the remaining ships, the humans in the water, and the merfolk that were attempting to save them.

Having located her husband in the water, who had, thankfully, abandoned ship and was unharmed, Ariel desperately tried to keep his head above the surface as she fought unsuccessfully against the current. It brought on a horrible flashback of when Ursula had nearly killed her 17 years ago. Was she going to meet her end in the same way she nearly did back then? If so, it was a cruel irony that Fate had in store for her.

As the whirlpool raged on, trapping all those that dared to oppose her in its current, Arquan burst up from underwater. Fixing her glowing red eyes on the helpless merfolk and humans, she looked on in amusement as they spun around and around.

As she watched, she saw out of the corner of her eye the only ones that had been far away enough to avoid being caught in the current. Melody was looking on in horror as she cradled Scuttle, and Alex was beside her, looking like he wanted nothing more than to go and help the others.

Arquan roared and lashed out with her tail. It shot through the water, beneath the surface, and wrapped around the two merfolk and seagull before they even knew it was there. They were yanked underwater and pulled along over to the leviathan.

Lifting them out of the water, Arquan brought them to eyelevel as she had with Sebastian. She roared loudly, her foul breath smelling of death. Down lower, her pouch glowed orange as the water inside was heated. Steam escaped from in between her teeth as he made her intentions clear, and Melody, Alex, and Sebastian were helpless to avoid it while wrapped up by her tail.

Making an obvious spectacle of what she was about to do, Arquan leaned back, her face pointed to the sky as she opened her mouth to take a deep breath, her water pouch contracting in preparation to unleash her deadly spray.

It was not boiling water that came shooting out of her mouth. Instead, a familiar beam of light shot up into the sky, ripping a blood-curdling scream from the leviathan that sounded all too human. Her massive form fell backwards, the beam tearing through her lower jaw and going down her neck and body, all the way to her stomach.

As Arquan's enormous body splashed into the water, and the beam of light dissipated, Triton emerged from the charred flesh of the leviathan, wielding his trident. He pulled himself free and splashed down into the now red water as the leviathan's tail went slack and dropped down, freeing its captives.

"Grandfather!" Melody shouted, shoving Scuttle into Alex's arms and swimming to the sea king. She threw her arms around him, causing him to wince in pain. "You're alive! We all thought you were dead!"

Ignoring the pain of his missing limb, he wrapped his remaining arm around her. "Not quite yet." He felt the pull of the current, and reluctantly released her. "Excuse me for a moment, my dear."

Placing the end of his trident in the water, he twirled it in the opposite direction the whirlpool was spinning in. Immediately, the whirlpool became unstable as the current adjusted. The vortex collapsed and closed as the waters became calm, freeing all those that had been trapped.

The merfolk quickly rushed the humans to the surface, where they gulped down the fresh air. Ariel surfaced with her husband, the latter coughing and sputtering. Melody spotted them almost immediately thanks to her mother's red hair standing out so greatly.

"Mom, Dad!" she shouted, waving to them.

As she and Alex helped Triton swim over to them, cries of "The king lives," and "Your majesty" came from the mermen.

"Daddy!" Ariel cried, throwing an arm around him as she supported Eric with the other. "You're really alive!

"Easy!" her father gasped, his wound agonizing him.

She let him go. "I'm sorry, Daddy." Her hand traveled down what remained of his left arm to where it had been chomped off. "Your arm."

The sea king tried to hide how much pain he was in. "I will be fine. It was a small price to pay to save you."

Treading water, Eric removed his belt. "Allow me, your majesty."

He looped the belt around the sea king's stump and tightened it to stop the bleeding. Triton grumbled in pain, but gave his son-in-law a grateful smile. "Your help is greatly appreciated. I'm not sure how well the trident can fix this."

Ignoring the pain, he touched the end of the trident to his wound. His face twisted into a look of agony as he focused on fixing the injury. And when the trident stopped glowing, the end of the stump was no longer bleeding, but now looked a few weeks old.

"I'm afraid that's the most that can be done," he relented. With a remorseful look, he glanced at the surviving humans and mermen. "But we lost far more than my arm. The lives of those that lost them this day shall never be forgotten. We shall honor those brave men for their sacrifice. At the very least, the planet has been saved from that horrible woman."

He suddenly felt something latch onto his chest, and looked down to find Sebastian doing his best to hug him.

"Oh, your majesty!" the crab wailed. "We had feared dee worst!"

Triton embarrassingly cleared his throat. "Um, yes, I am as well as can be, Sebastian."

As the crab continued to joyfully weep, Tip and Dash surfaced.

"Another plan perfectly executed," the penguin declared.

Flounder came up beside them. What are you talking about? You guys didn't do anything. It was his majesty that stopped her."

Tip glanced at him. "Oh yeah, well, what about that thing with the waterspout? Did you forget about that already, fishy? Yeah, that was us."

"All are be to commemorated," the sea king declared loudly. "Everyone did their part, and we are all safe once again because of it. The threats of the pirates and Arquan have finally been put to rest."

"Thanks to you, kingy," Scuttle pointed out.

The sea king sighed. "Melody, hold him still."

Scuttle suddenly looked alarmed. "Wait, what are you doing?" he asked as the trident was pointed at him.

There was a loud _crack_ in his wing as the trident glowed against him. He gave a painful yelp before his broken wing healed under the trident's power.

"Whoa!" he squawked. "That feels good!" He took to the air, testing it out. "Awesome job, kingy. You should think about quitting being king and becoming a doctor."

Sebastian humphed. "Don't even joke about dat. Dere ees only one person feet for dee job of keeng."

But Triton actually gave the seagull's words some real thought. "Perhaps he's right. I have ruled the ocean for a very long time now. My reign was long and prosperous, but recent mistakes have shown me that perhaps the time for me to step down is indeed coming."

Silence greeted this statement, as no one knew what to say. Did they question the sea king's decision, or did they agree that his rule should end? As they contemplated this, the red water from Arquan's blood reached them, and Ariel quickly changed the topic.

"Perhaps we should get everyone out of here before sharks start showing up."

Triton looked down at the red water. "Yes, a wise decision. Let us get the humans to shore."

And so, like a migrating school of fish, the merfolk helped the humans begin the long swim back to shore. Melody and Alex helped support the sea king sine he was still weak from his injury, and Ariel helped her husband, refusing to let him go, as the fear of losing him still hadn't completely left her.

Losing someone was very hard. Melody had come close to losing so many loved ones over the past few days. First Gummy to the fishing nets, then Alex to Captain Bloodshot, then her own life to Marina and the same mad captain, and very nearly everyone she cared about once Arquan had been resurrected. The evil mermaid had very nearly drowned her father, almost swallowed her mother, actually swallowed her grandfather, and almost killed them all, succeeding in killing many others.

She shivered at the thought of how close to death they all came, and she still remembered the horrendous sight of Captain Bloodshot shooting Marina right in front of her. And then there were the deaths of all the pirates, mermen, and humans that Arquan had killed. Perhaps it was because she had never witnessed death before today, but she never actually realized just how easily life could be lost. Deep down, she had known, but she hadn't _known._

She glanced at her grandfather, She never knew her Grandma Athena, but she had been told that the two of them had had a very loving relationship before her unexpected and untimely death. Se couldn't fathom the amount of pain and heartache her grandfather must have felt at his wife's tragic demise. The closet thing she had felt to that, aside from thinking that her grandfather was dead, had been when Alex disappeared, and when he was lost in the wreckage of the Sea Arrow. But that feeling had been more along the lines of worry and fear, not heartbreak and loss. She didn't want to know what it would feel like to truly lose him, not until they had lived a long and happy life together, with time and age being the only things capable of separating them.

She thought about all the poor people, humans and merfolk alike, who had lost their lives this day at Arquan's hands. None of them had wanted to die today. They may have been prepared for it when their king had suddenly called them all to battle, but none of them had any plans to actually go to that peaceful place in the sky. And then there were their loved ones. Their loved ones still had no idea that they had passed away. In fact, the merfolk may not have even known that they had gone to battle with the suddenness that the soldiers must have been summoned, let alone knowing that they had died. They would be truly devastated. Husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, and cousins, all suddenly and unexpectedly taken from them. It was truly unfair.

Now she looked to her parents, thinking back over the years at how happy they were together. They loved each other so much, and had such joyful times together. Melody wanted that, and she wanted it with Alex. It was within her reach, all she had to do was reach out and grab it. Yet for a long time, she had been hesitating. Both she and Alex had been. Not because they didn't know what they wanted or had any doubts, but because they were afraid of hurting those close to them.

Melody knew that her parents were afraid that she would go away someday, and they would be devastated when their fears were confirmed. It was for this reason that she had never told them of her and Alex's intentions.

Her mother must have been afraid as well, and her fears must have been amplified tenfold because, not only had she left her family, but she had entered a world in which she had known almost nothing about, and on a three day time limit to boot. She must have also known that it would hurt her father and sisters to leave them, but she had to live her own life and make her own decisions. And in the end, it had all been worth it.

Melody's predicament was similar, only she had the added benefit of learning about the merworld and planning years in advance to join it, unlike her mother who had blindly rushed forward. Right now, the only thing that was holding her back was that she didn't want to hurt her parents and brother with her departure from their lives.

But, just like her mother, she also had to make her own decisions and live her own life, regardless of what anyone else wanted for her. And witnessing so much death and destruction had made it very clear to her just how short life was, and just how easily that life could be snuffed out. For all she knew, something else could happen the very next day, and either she or Alex or both could die without truly embracing the things they wanted in life, all because they were hesitating for the sake of others.

But no more. It was time to stop worrying about what others thought, time to stop hesitating out of fear, and time to take what she wanted. She needed to tell her parents of her decision. She couldn't hesitate any more. No more waiting, no more stalling. Now was the time.

"Mom, Dad, Grandfather, can we stop for a minute? I have something that I want to say."

Ariel stopped swimming, and she and her husband looked at her. "Is everything ok?" the former asked.

"You weren't hurt during the battle, were you?" said her father worriedly.

Melody shook her head. "No, it's nothing like that. I just have something really important to tell you all; something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time now, but have been putting it off."

Triton seemed to realize what it was his granddaughter was going to say, and waved on the other mermen to keep going. "Go on, my dear, tell us whatever it is you need to say."

Looking at her parents, Melody hesitated, unsure of how to put what she wanted to say into words. She looked over to Alex, then reached out to take his hand before looking at her parents again. "Mom, Dad," she took a deep breath, "Alex and I love are in love. We plan to wed, and I'm going to become a mermaid and stay in the sea permanently."

There, she had said it. She had finally told her parents what had been tormenting her for so long. Now all she had to do was wait for their reactions. She stilled planned to go along with what she had decided, no matter what they said, but she so desperately needed their approval, and to know that they were ok with her decision.

Ariel and Eric remained silent. Their daughter's words were a little easier for Ariel to accept since Melody had more or less made her intentions clear to her that day on the beach, but this was the first time Eric had heard of this; Ariel had respected their daughter's wish to not say anything to him yet.

She looked to her husband, waiting to see what he would say. "Eric?"

A humorless chuckle crossed with a sigh escaped him as he hung his head. "So, it's finally happened." He looked at his wife. "Deep down, we always knew it would, didn't we?"

Melody looked surprised at his words. "Wait, you mean you knew what I was planning?"

Ariel gave her a sad smile. "We're not blind, sweetie. We may not have known for sure, but we always had our suspicions. Your love for the sea runs deep. We always felt we would lose you to it one day."

"And when Alex came along," Eric added, "we pretty much knew for sure what you would want to do. We hoped we were wrong, but I think we always knew the truth."

Melody looked away. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want to upset you."

Ariel sighed. "Oh, Melody, you've always been such a headstrong, independent, and stubborn woman, but you should never be afraid to tell us anything, no matter what it is. We told you before, it doesn't matter to us whether you have fins or feet, we love you for you, and nothing can ever change that."

Eric reached out and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You're mother's right. Even if you decided on something that we would prefer you didn't do, we would still love and support you. As long as it makes you happy, then we're happy for you."

Melody looked at them with tears in her eyes. "You really mean it? You're ok with this?"

Ariel affectionately lifted her daughter's chin. "Of course we're ok with it. And it's not like we'll never see each other again. Atlantica is only a short swim away. Before Morgana came along, my friends and family still came to visit. You can stop by whenever you want."

Tearfully, Melody swam out from beneath her grandfather's arm, leaving Alex to support him, and hugged her parents. "Thank you, thank you so much! I was so afraid to tell you. I promise to visit often. I love you guys!"

As Ariel kept them afloat, she and her husband hugged their daughter. "We love you too."

Triton smiled at them affectionately and glanced at Alex, who was looking both nervous over the discussion and relieved that Ariel and Eric's attention seemed to be on their daughter right now, and not on him. Giving the merboy a knowing look, he removed his remaining arm from around his shoulder and went to hug his family. This left Alex alone, and he was soon noticed by Melody's parents.

"Alex," said Ariel, holding out an arm to welcome him into the group embrace, "this is a family hug. You'll be family soon too."

"He already is," the sea king replied.

Alex blushed furiously as he shyly swam over to them and joined the hug. It felt very awkward doing this after Melody's unexpected confession, but it seemed like he wouldn't need to ask her parents for permission to marry their daughter anymore since she had just _told_ them that they were getting married.

"You had best take care of my little girl," Eric growled at him in warning, "otherwise you'll wish you were back up on Bloodshot's mast."

Alex gulped nervously. "Y-Yes, sir. I intend to."

Melody chuckled. "Oh, Dad…" and hugged them all tighter.

That's when it happened. From out of nowhere, something massive burst up from underwater behind them. A monstrous roar rang out as Arquan, still in the form of a leviathan, came up. Her bottom jaw was split open down the middle from the trident's power, and the gash continued down her body to her stomach from where Triton had emerged.

How she was still alive was beyond them. Perhaps she was in the throes of death, and these were her last moments. Yet it was more than enough time to finish them off.

Melody and Alex reacted at the same time, both their hands landing on the trident. They directed it at the beast, just as she struck.

A beam flew from the trident, blasting into Arquan's gapping mouth moments before her jaws closed over them. The leviathan's head and a portion of her upper body was blown apart. The beast's headless length remained upright for a few moments before its nerves and muscles relaxed, and it sank into the sea, finally and truly vanquished.

**(A/N: I wanted to do a climax scene similar to the one in **_**Sleeping Beauty**_**. I also through in a surprise final attack right there at the end, just when you thought it was over. I feel kind of bad for making Triton lose an arm, but hey, I was honestly considering actually killing him off. Did anyone think I actually did? I didn't want to make it too obvious that he was going to retrieve the trident from inside Arquan's stomach, which is why I had him lose an arm, so you would think he really was dead. But no, the king lives. And now, as the chapter title indicates, everything is all out in the open. How will things turn out? Find out in the final chapter.)**

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	16. Epilogue

**(A/N: It's the final chapter. It came so fast, or so it seemed. I didn't think I'd ever write a fic like this one, let alone having it turn out so well. It's too bad I couldn't have written it back when **_**The Little Mermaid**_** was more popular. But I'm grateful to everyone that has read, and I now present you with the final chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Epilogue**

This was one of the happiest days of Ariel and Eric's lives, but also one of the saddest. Their little girl was getting married! It was truly a cause for celebration, but it was also a cause for great sorrow, because their daughter was leaving them. She was leaving her life on land and her family for a life in the sea to start her own family.

In the months that had followed the fall of Arquan, Melody and Ariel had taken on human form once again to tie up any loose ends before the former left land for good. It had been a very busy time, not just because they needed to get their affairs in order, but because they had a wedding to prepare.

Many people came, both human and merfolk alike. Carlotta was busy weeping into Grimbsy's shirt, much like she had when Eric and Ariel had gotten married. Chef Louis was busy keeping an eye out for a certain crustacean, but Sebastian had learned from last time, and remained in the water.

After much deliberation, and a lot of arguing between Tip and Dash, Dorian was chosen as the ring bearer. Though incredibly bored with the whole event, the young prince had yet to raise a single complaint. It seemed he was trying to make an extra effort to appear more grownup and responsible after his little stunt of climbing down his balcony had gotten him in trouble. He tried even harder to make a good impression when he was named successor to the throne, so the people would see that one day he would be a worthy king.

Melody named Sea-Sea as her maid of honor and her female cousins to be her bridesmaids, while Alex had chosen Tide as his best man, followed by Tip, Dash, Scuttle, Flounder, and his male children as the groomsmen.

As the groom's parents, Urchin and Gabriella received a front row seat to their son's wedding, along with Melody's aunts, uncles, and male cousins. Gabriella couldn't seem to stop crying, and Urchin and Ollie were doing their best to stop her joyful tears.

Many other family friends attended as well, including the former Evil Manta and his son, Benjamin, Shelbow, Ink Spot, Cheeks, Ray-Ray, Dudley, Zeus the crab, Spot the killer whale, Stormy, Pearl and her husband Thor, and even the now full-grown Daniel. And when Simon the sea monster poked his giant head out of the water, the humans had nearly fled in fear until they were assured by the sea king himself that Simon was perhaps the gentlest soul around.

Also among the crowd was Hemsworth's family. They had been found after the whole fiasco with Arquan and Captain Bloodshot. It had seemed that Alex had been right, Hemsworth's family had managed to pull themselves out of the slumps over the years, and Hemsworth's brother was alive and well. There had no longer been any reason for him to continue pirating. It was just a sad fate that Hemsworth hadn't gotten out before it was too late.

His family had not been told the truth of what their son had been doing over the years to support them. He had been made out to be a prisoner on the Sea Arrow, rather than a crewmember, who had sacrificed himself to save Alex. He was labeled as a hero, and with all the pirates drowned at sea during Arquan's rampage, there was no one willing to contradict this story, and Hemsworth's family had been rewarded.

On a happier note, the wedding had finally gotten underway. The beach around the pier had been decorated for the occasion, and the pier served as the walkway the bride and her father would walk down, rather than an aisle. King Triton waited at the end of the pier with the groom, ready to perform the ceremony. It had already begun, and Eric walked his daughter down the length of the pier while Ariel hung back, wiping away her tears. Max followed behind them, holding up the end of Melody's dress in his mouth.

The layout of the wedding was meant to be symbolic as the bride made her transition from the land to the sea. The walk across the beach and over the pier were meant to represent her walking out of one world and into another. For decorations, ornaments that tended to be used for wedding celebrations on land covered the beach and half the pier, while farther out, these land decorations were mixed with and slowly replaced by decorations from the sea. Even the seating arrangements had been based on this theme, with the humans remaining on the beach and the merfolk beyond the pier, while animals that were known to go on both the land and in the sea surrounded the pier itself.

As Melody and her father reached the end of the pier, Triton commanded the water around him and Alex to rise. They were lifted up until they were level with Melody and Eric as Dorian began making his way down the pier with the rings.

It was truly a beautiful ceremony, and the vows that Melody and Alex exchanged brought tears to the eyes of many, a single drop even escaping the sea king. When the rings were exchanged and Triton announced them as husband and wife, cheers rang out from both those on land and in the sea. Melody threw her arms around Alex and kissed him passionately, not caring that her dress was getting wet. Alex returned the kiss, glad that he no longer needed to hide doing this with her, and could now do it any time he wanted.

When they finally broke apart, Melody turned her back to the crowd and shut her eyes as she randomly threw her bouquet in the air. Tip and Dash began fighting each other as the bundle of flowers came down towards them. It seemed like Tip would be the lucky man as he climbed on top of Dash's head to make the catch, only to have the bouquet snatched away at the last second by Scuttle as he flew by.

Chuckling, Melody shook her head at her friends' antics. She turned to her father and gave him a big hug, then bent down to pat Max's head, and then hug her brother. Ariel had made her way down to the end of the pier by this time, and was now waiting for her turn. When Melody finally managed to tear herself away from her brother, she hugged her mother as well.

Long moments passed before they broke apart, both with tears in their eyes. Melody looked over her shoulder at her grandfather and new husband as the water level returned to normal, then back at her mother.

Ariel gave her a smile as she wiped away her daughter's tears. "Be happy," she said, and then nodded towards the end of the pier. "Go."

Melody returned the smile, and then, hiking up her dress, made a dash to the end of the pier. She knew that this would be the last time she would be running, yet, there was no hesitation on her part as she leapt off the end with her arms spread, as if she were flying. Triton took aim, and fired a beam at her from his trident. Melody's wedding dress burst into a shower of sparks around her as her legs fused together to form her sparkling orangish-pinkish tail. A mermaid once more, she splashed into the water.

She came up beneath Alex, throwing her arms around him and pressing her lips to his. Once Alex got over his surprise, he placed his hands on her hips and picked her up as he began spinning them both around. Melody squealed gleefully as she spread her arms, overjoyed that she would never again be parted from her two greatest loves, Alex and the sea.

Triton smiled at how happy his granddaughter and her new husband looked together. This had been, he decided, his final act as king. He therefore turned to his oldest daughter and held out his trident to her. Attina didn't seem to understand why her father was presenting it to her at first, but once the meaning became clear, her eyes widened, and she looked up at him in shock and disbelief.

"Daddy…?" she asked uncertainly.

He nodded to her. "It is time."

With trembling hands, Attina reached for the mighty weapon that only the ruler of the sea was meant to have. It glowed bright gold as it was passed from father to daughter, as if it was acknowledging its new owner. A rightful ceremony would take place later, but for all intents and purposes, Attina was now the new queen of the ocean. Triton swam a few feet back and bowed to her. The new sea queen looked around as merfolk and humans alike bowed to her as well.

A smile grazed her face, and she waved the trident through the air, displaying her father's greatest expression of joy by creating a rainbow in the sky. Everyone applauded her; even Melody and Alex managed to tear themselves away from each other long enough to clap their hands.

It was later while Melody and Alex shared their first dance as husband and wife, as best as two people without legs could, that the unexpected happened. Sebastian sat on the top of a rock protruding from the water with Queen Attina's twin girls, Athena and Shelly, on either side of him as they watched the happy couple.

Sniffling, Sebastian wiped a tear from his. "Eet's so beauteeful. What a perfect end. Eet's like everything has come around full circle."

"I guess," Shelly muttered. "Although I still can't figure out why Aunt Ariel wanted to be human. I get that she was in love with Uncle Eric, but the human world just seems so… ghastly. Why would she take such an interest in it?"

Athena had a different opinion. "I don't know. Some of it seems pretty amazing. I wonder what it would be like to be part of that world."

At those familiar words, Sebastian's head snapped in her direction. He saw a look of wonder and longing in her eyes as she stared at the shore. He knew that look well. It had been the very same look that had appeared in Ariel's eyes whenever she looked at the land, the same look Melody had whenever she looked at the sea. Yes, he recognized that look all right, and he knew it could only mean one thing.

"Oh, no," he muttered. "No. No, no, no way! Absolutely not! I'm not going through all dat again!" He stubbornly stomped down the rock and into the water. "Forget eet! You can count me out! I'm getting way too old for dis."

**THE END**

**(A/N: Oh no! It looks like the cycle is starting all over again. But there won't be a sequel, just the possibility for one. I hope that everyone enjoyed my story. It was very different from what I usually write, but I'm glad I did it. I'll probably going back to more of the anime genre fanfiction now, so I hope you keep an eye out for that. On a final note, I leave you the last of the pics I found. It's actually of Melody in her wedding dress! Not done by, me, but still nice to look at. Just don't forget to replace the **_**DOT**_** with an actual . when you type in the link. So, here's your last chance to review. Tell me your thoughts, and I'll catch you later.)**

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